The Conservative Party has withdrawn the whip from MP Mark Menzies while it investigates claims he misused donations from supporters.
He is said to have called his 78-year-old former campaign manager, who has not been named, at 3am one night in December saying he had been locked in a flat by “bad people” and asking for £5,000 from a bank account that contained supporter donations.
When she was unable to transfer the money due to the late hour, he “became angry, allegedly telling her it was ‘a matter of life and death'”, said The Times . Menzies’s constituency office manager, Shirley Green, is said to have “stumped up” an eventual sum of £6,500 a few hours later and was repaid from the campaign fund.
Menzies “strongly” disputes the claims, said the BBC.
The MP for Fylde in Lancashire also used £14,000 from donations to pay for private medical expenses, claimed The Times. A source close to Menzies “argued that paying the medical bills helped to keep Menzies functioning as an MP and were a legitimate use of the funds”, said the paper.
However, one donor said he had been “told by Menzies that the money would be used for campaigning” and called for a police investigation.
The claims against Menzies were reported to the party in January, “but the wheels of party justice have turned slowly”, said The Times.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said it was “frankly appalling” that the Conservatives had been aware of the allegations for more than three months.
The Conservative Party has confirmed that it is investigating the allegations, while Menzies is “continuing with plans to stand at the next election”, The Times said.
Menzies becomes the 18th MP currently sitting in Parliament as an independent, following a “series of scandals and disciplinary problems“, said The Independent.