Unfortunately, I have been scammed by a malicious organisation, who have breached data protection.
As is clear this was nothing other than what I thought to be a preliminary discussion with a South Korean company – a country that is close to my heart as I have a substantial Korean community in my constituency, and which is an important ally to the UK. I had met the South Korean Ambassador for lunch on 30 January. The initial email sent by this ‘organisation’ was received on 31 January and therefore my initial reaction was to believe the two were connected. I therefore arranged the preliminary discussion to take place the next week, 7 February.
It turns out this company was fake, with a fake website. The remuneration amount was suggested by the actor purporting to be an employee of the company, not by me. At every stage of the discussion, I made clear the time commitment being sought would be subject to other time commitments which is obviously my role as an MP, something the heavily edited video does not show. I am also clear that I have never and would never undertake any activity which breaches Parliamentary rules. I believe it is a great honour to be an MP. I have always put my constituents first and will always try to act in their best interests.
Scamming is an unpleasant activity undertaken with malicious intent.