 The report was particularly scathing in its treatment of Stanley, noting that he was a man who would make any statement, whether true or untrue, if he thought it would advantage him.It concluded that Belcher, by accepting gifts, had been improperly influenced in the exercise of his ministerial responsibilities, in particular in relation to a decision to withdraw a prosecution against the football pools promoter Harry Sherman for exceeding his permitted paper allocation.Belcher expressed himself as "surprised and grieved" by these findings.