Tory MP Scott Benton offered to table parliamentary questions, leak a confidential policy document and lobby ministers on behalf of gambling industry investors who proposed paying him thousands of pounds a month, an undercover investigation for The Times has found.

He is chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for betting and gaming and has been a vocal supporter of the industry’s interests in parliament. He is a former local councillor who won the red wall seat of Blackpool South for the Tories in 2019.

He has been stripped of the Tory whip.

This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. – Rishi Sunak on the steps of No 10.