London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

MP Scott Benton claims ways around hospitality rules

MP Scott Benton claims ways around hospitality rules

Scott Benton has been filmed by undercover reporters appearing to explain how companies and MPs can avoid registering corporate hospitality.
The MP was suspended by the Tory Party after The Times published a video of him offering to lobby for a fake firm.

In a fresh story on the same meeting, he appears to suggest that firms can put falsely low values on tickets they offer for live sports and other events.

Commons rules require MPs to disclose hospitality worth £300 or more.

Mr Benton joked racing tickets he had accepted often came to £295.

The Blackpool South MP, who chairs an all-party group with links to the gambling industry, has declared only one race meeting since he was elected in 2019.

This was a visit to Ascot in 2021 worth £1,400, funded by the Betting and Gaming Council, an industry lobbying group.

Speaking to the undercover reporters, who were posing as investors in the gambling industry, he said: "A lot of companies try to be quite cute about the level of the hospitality to make sure it falls just under [£300], so people don't have to declare it.

"It normally works for the company, and it normally works for MPs as well.

"Without saying too much, you'd be amazed at the number of times I've been to races and the ticket comes to £295," he was filmed saying, and laughing.

The MPs' code of conduct says members must register gifts, benefits or hospitality "with a value of over £300 which they receive form a UK source".

The BBC has not seen the full, unedited video of Mr Benton's meeting with the reporters. He has been approached for fresh comment.

According to the Times - but not in its video posted online - he also told its reporters: "I probably shouldn't say this, but essentially all MPs are looking for is an email chain saying this is how much a ticket cost, so if we get caught out it's like, well the company told me it cost this much.

"And essentially what you [the company] paid for is nobody else's business."

Mr Benton is also said by the paper to have suggested MPs can help companies who give them hospitality.

"Most would, especially if the ask wasn't too onerous, which would be 'Can you try and find out X, Y and Z from members of staff, file a parliamentary question, or submit this question next time oral questions come up in the House of Commons".

This section also does not appear in the video posted online.

Mr Benton was suspended as a Tory MP after referring himself to the parliamentary standards commissioner on Wednesday.

This followed a Times report that he was offered a paid advisory role by the undercover reporters.

He did not pursue the role and no specific rules appear to have been broken, though the code of conduct says MPs should "never undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its Members generally".

Mr Benton was secretly filmed saying he could table parliamentary questions and leak a confidential policy paper.

Some MPs have declared hospitality under £300 - including Tory backbencher Peter Bone and Labour's shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell.

Mr Benton has not declared any hospitality provided by gambling companies in the past year. He has declared £700 worth of hospitality for the Championship play-off final from the English Football League.

MPs and members of the House of Lords routinely accept gifts and hospitality from companies, individuals, charities and other organisations.

This is not against the rules, provided they declare it in the register of members interests.

The gambling industry is one of the biggest spenders on corporate hospitality at Westminster.

According to BBC analysis, MPs have accepted at least £51,000 from gambling companies over the past year.

In all but one case, this was through donations of tickets and hospitality to events including sports events and concerts. MPs attended concerts by Ed Sheeran and Adele, a Championship playoff match at Wembley, and Cheltenham Races for free.

The donations were declared by 22 Conservative MPs, 13 Labour MPs and one independent.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×