Keir Starmer has called for a police investigation into allegations that campaign funds were misused by the MP Mark Menzies, who has lost the Conservative whip.
The Labour leader said there were “unanswered questions” in relation to the allegations against the MP for Fylde in Lancashire, who has also been suspended as a government trade envoy.
Menzies, 52, faces claims that he demanded thousands of pounds from an aide to pay off “bad people” in the middle of the night.
He was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party on Wednesday night while an investigation is carried out. Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson confirmed that Menzies had also been suspended from his role as a trade envoy to Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina.
The Conservatives took action after the allegations were made public in a report by the Times. Labour has written to the Conservatives asking whether the party has referred the matter to the police.
Starmer told reporters during a visit to Teesside: “There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in relation to these allegations. Not least why it seems the Conservative party took so long to act and whether they’ve reported this to the police, who it seems to me should be involved in this.
“I’ll be honest, there’s a degree of frustration as well. We’re two weeks away from really important political and mayoral elections … And yet again we’re talking about misbehaviour by Tory MPs and if ever you needed evidence of why we need to turn the page on this … and have a fresh start with Labour, I think it’s in these allegations coming out today.”
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said on Thursday morning that the Conservatives had been aware of the claims “for a while” but “further information came to light yesterday”.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I understand that CCHQ have been aware for it for a while and have been investigating, and I think some new investigation has come to light subsequently.”
Menzies said in a statement: “I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing I will not be commenting further.”
According to the Times, Menzies phoned his former campaign manager, now a party volunteer, at 3.15am one night in December saying he was locked in a flat by “some bad people” and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
Hours later, the sum had risen to £6,500, and was said to have been paid from the personal savings of Menzies’ constituency officer manager. She was reported to have been reimbursed from campaign donations.
The case is the latest alleged misconduct scandal to rock the Conservative party. It comes only weeks after William Wragg, another MP who has since resigned the Tory whip, claimed he handed over colleagues’ personal numbers to someone who had compromising material on him.
According to an account given to the Times by a source close to Menzies, he asked for the money after meeting a man he met on a dating website. The source said Menzies had gone to the man’s flat before going with another man to a second address, where he continued drinking. People at the address falsely claimed he had been sick and demanded £5,000 for cleaning up and other expenses, according to this account.
The source close to Menzies told the Times he paid the money because he was afraid of what would happen if he refused, but had insufficient funds in his own savings. They claimed he offered to repay the sum, but that local Tories who controlled the campaign funds said he did not need to.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, wrote on Thursday to the Conservative party chair, Richard Holden, questioning what she said was an apparent lack of action in relation to the “disturbing” allegations.
“The Conservative party has reportedly been aware of these serious accusations for over three months. What action was taken, by whom, and when?” she wrote in the letter.
Dodds also asked whether CCHQ had advised those involved to contact the police and whether the party itself had reported the matter.
A decade ago, Menzies quit as a ministerial aide after allegations about his behaviour by a Brazilian male escort.
Menzies had been elected in 2010 and was swiftly promoted to be a ministerial aide, serving former energy minister Charles Hendry and former housing minister Mark Prisk before taking up a similar role with Alan Duncan, then the international development minister.
Source: theguardian.com
