Tory MP Scott Benton will be suspended for 35 days after breaching lobbying rules, the Independent Expert Panel of the House having now upheld the Standards Committee’s recommendation. Appeal rejected, another by-election on the horizon…

In April last year Scott Benton had the whip removed after he had offered to lobby ministers in return for payments to undercover reporters. Benton appealed this, accusing the Standards Committee of leaking the details of their judgment. Benton argued that a leak of the original recommendation for suspension rendered the process inadequate…

Read below the extract of the report showing Benton’s suspension will be upheld as well as Benton’s statement in response:

“For the reasons set out in its decision, section 2 of this report, the sub-panel decided there was substance to one of Mr Benton’s grounds of appeal, namely that the Committee process was procedurally flawed due to a potential leak of the Committee on Standards’ decision: We considered carefully the information presented to us about a potential leak of the Committee’s decision. The issue of confidentiality was not addressed in the Committee’s report. The Appellant argued that this evidence raised the ground of a ‘procedural flaw’ in the process followed by the Committee. We also considered that this matter raised the ground of appeal based on there potentially being ‘credible fresh evidence’. Accordingly, we decided that there was substance to this ground of appeal and proceeded to consider the merits of this ground.

1.7 After granting permission to appeal on this ground, the sub-panel requested information from the Committee in regard to an alleged leak (Appendix II). They ultimately dismissed the appeal based on that information (Appendices III and IV): We were reassured by the Committee’s deliberations and the Chair’s letter that there has been no breach of confidentiality. We were satisfied, therefore, that there was no substance to the allegation of a leak from the Committee and therefore no procedural flaw in the process….“

“I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the Appeal Panel to uphold the Standards Committee’s unjust findings against me. The entire process has been prone to regular leaks at every stage, with journalists knowing the details throughout. This lack of integrity throughout the process has formed an inescapable appearance of bias.

It is also incredibly concerning that new members of the Committee were able to participate in the voting process without having been present for the prior proceedings, discussions, and debates. Imagine a criminal trial where jurors vote at the last minute despite not being present throughout the proceedings and hearing all of the evidence. This highlights a complete lack of fairness and due diligence in the process.

Additionally, the contents of the Committee’s report were then leaked to the press by ‘sources close to the Committee’ prior to publication. The Appeal Panel states that ‘After granting permission to appeal on this ground, the sub-panel requested information from the Committee in regard to an alleged leak’. ‘We were assured by the Committee’s deliberations and the Chair’s letter that there has been no breach of confidentiality. We were satisfied, therefore, that there was no substance to the allegation of a leak from the Committee and therefore no procedural flaw in the process.

The Appeal Panel report chooses to ignore the clear and unequivocal evidence of such leaks. It states ‘there was substance to one of Mr Benton’s grounds of appeal, namely that the Committee process was procedurally flawed due to a potential leak of the Committee on Standards’ decision’.

Despite the fact that nobody should have known that the report was due to be published – and should certainly not have known its contents – the night before the Standards Committee decision was issued in December, I took a call from a journalist who knew the outcome and stated that this had come from ‘sources close to the committee’. A recording of this phone call was made and despite having this, and other clear evidence of leaks, the Appeal Panel and Standards Committee seek to deny such leaks exist.

It goes without saying that the Standards process is designed to be open, fair, honest and transparent so the public and MPs can have trust in it. These events clearly mean that this trust has been breached by Members of the Committee and/or its administrative staff and create an inevitable perception of partiality.

How can MPs and the public they serve have faith in standards process which doesn’t adhere to its own ethics, standards and principles? To make matters worse, the decision of the Appeal Panel (the timing of which should have again been unknown) was leaked to the press with journalists contacting me last night regarding this and the decision being leaked this morning. Despite being aware of yet more leaks, the Appeal Panel chooses to ignore this and the obvious flaws and bias within the process which they so clearly demonstrate.

Since being elected in 2019, I have helped to deliver over £400 million in additional government funding for projects in Blackpool – one of the highest amounts in the country. This has funded many different projects including much needed regeneration, upgrades to Blackpool Victoria’s A&E Department, and extra investment in our children’s education. I also recently introduced a new law to strengthen the rights of workers in Blackpool who are often on flexible contracts.

Whilst this process has been taking place, I have continued to work tirelessly on behalf of my constituents, recently submitting a petition for regenerating Bond Street & Central Drive, campaigning to restore commercial passenger flights to Blackpool Airport, and fighting to improve local GP and dentistry services. My record of activity, both in Blackpool, and in Westminster, where I am among the most frequent contributors to Parliament, speaks for itself.”