Cash for questions

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The cash-for-questions affair was a controversial political scandal in 1990s Britain. It was alleged by The Guardian newspaper and Granada Television, that certain members of Parliament had been accepting bribes in exchange for asking parliamentary questions, and other tasks.

The initial story was that Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith had accepted £2000 each to ask questions, paid via Ian Greer. The allegations were confirmed by Mohammed al-Fayed, who claims to have been the paymaster. Smith resigned immediately, but Hamilton and Greer sued. The court case was later abandoned. Since then, Hamilton has sued Mohammed al-Fayed, lost, was ordered to pay costs, and subsequently declared bankruptcy.

Consequences involved the Nolan Committee, and the Register of Members' Interests, as well as the defeat of Hamilton at the 1997 general election by independent candidate Martin Bell.