Tory MP sorry after failing to declare races trip

Philip Davies said he was sorry for the error, telling MPs that he had not been influenced in any way after accepting the freebie from bookmakers Ladbrokes in March 2011.

The MP for Shipley had “properly and accurately” detailed the trip in the register of interests. However, under parliamentary rules, MPs must tell colleagues if they have ever accepted any related interests before speaking in a debate or tabling questions.

Mr Davies said that he had subsequently submitted three parliamentary questions on problem gambling, held an adjournment debate on problem gambling, and been a member of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee when it held an investigation into the Gambling Act 2005. The chief executive of Ladbrokes gave evidence to the committee during the investigation.

His apology follows a complaint to the parliamentary commissioner for standards but it was dismissed.

Mr Davies said: “As soon as I was made aware of this complaint, I told the parliamentary commissioner for standards that I believed that I should have referred to my entry on these occasions.

“My failure to do so was not due to a desire to conceal this. If that had been my motivation, I would not have registered it in the first place, but rather due to an oversight as I had forgotten about it.”