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Lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind, named in lobbying sting, to step down from Parliament after election

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 3, 2005, file photo of former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, as he speaks during the 2005 Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool, England. Conservative Party lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind quit Tuesday Feb. 24, 2015 as head of the committee overseeing Britain's intelligence services and announced his retirement from Parliament, after being caught in a hidden-camera sting appearing to discuss swapping political influence for money. (AP Photo/Paul Ellis, File) (The Associated Press)

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    Conservative Party lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind gets past the media as he makes his way to a waiting car in Westminster, London, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Malcolm Rifkind quit Tuesday as head of the committee overseeing Britain's intelligence services and announced his retirement from Parliament, after being caught in a hidden-camera sting appearing to discuss swapping political influence for money.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) (The Associated Press)

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    Conservative Party lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind, left, is surrounded by the media in Westminster, London, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Malcolm Rifkind quit Tuesday as head of the committee overseeing Britain's intelligence services and announced his retirement from Parliament, after being caught in a hidden-camera sting appearing to discuss swapping political influence for money. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (The Associated Press)

LONDON – Conservative Party lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind has announced plans to leave Parliament after Britain's general election in May.

The senior party figure made the announcement Tuesday after he was linked to a lobbying scandal.

Rifkind and former foreign secretary Jack Straw from the Labour Party were caught in a hidden-camera sting that appeared to show each separately offering access to politicians and diplomats in exchange for fees.

Both have denied wrongdoing. Their cases are being reviewed.

Rifkind, a former foreign secretary, also is stepping down as chairman of the parliamentary committee that oversees the British intelligence service.

The undercover reporting by Channel 4's "Dispatches" program and the Daily Telegraph newspaper reopened a debate about political lobbying.