1 year ago
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Image source, Times newspaper
Conservative MP Scott Benton talked astir the lobbying services helium could perchance supply to a fake company, footage from an undercover probe appears to show.
The Times says Mr Benton was offered a paid advisory relation by reporters posing arsenic investors successful a sting.
He was secretly filmed saying helium could array parliamentary questions and leak a confidential argumentation paper.
He did not prosecute the relation and nary rules look to person been broken.
The BBC has lone seen an edited excerpt of the footage published by the Times newspaper.
In a connection shared with the BBC, Mr Benton said: "Last period I was approached by a purported institution offering maine an adept advisory role.
"I met with 2 individuals claiming to correspond the institution to find retired what this relation entailed.
"After this meeting, I was asked to guardant my CV and immoderate different idiosyncratic details. I did not bash truthful arsenic I was acrophobic that what was being asked of maine was not wrong Parliamentary rules.
"I contacted the Commons Registrar and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner who clarified these rules for maine and had nary further interaction with the company. I did this earlier being made alert that the institution did not beryllium and the individuals claiming to correspond it were journalists."
The UK Parliament's code of conduct prohibits MPs from lobbying successful instrumentality for payment.
The codification of behaviour says MPs whitethorn not talk successful the House of Commons and marque approaches to ministers successful instrumentality for payment.
The rules astir lobbying successful Parliament were tightened up successful an updated mentation of the codification of conduct, which published successful February pursuing the contention implicit paid advocacy enactment undertaken by erstwhile MP Owen Paterson.
The Times probe comes aft a akin sting cognition acceptable up by Led By Donkeys, a governmental run group.
Senior MPs, including erstwhile furniture ministers Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng, were filmed agreeing to enactment for a fake institution for thousands of pounds a day.
There has been a wider treatment astir MPs having 2nd jobs successful caller years, and calls for betterment of the rules aft precocious illustration cases involving parliamentarians conducting backstage concern extracurricular of their Commons duties.
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