MP Mark Menzies steps down after allegations of misuse of funds to pay ‘bad people’
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Mark Menzies has announced he is stepping down as an MP following claims he misused campaign funds and demanded cash from a party aide to pay a ransom.
The MP for Fylde, who has already lost the Tory whip, is alleged to have used £14,000 of political donations to fund his private medical expenses.
He was also said to have phoned Katie Fieldhouse, his 78-year-old former campaign manager, at 3.15am last December to ask for money to pay “bad people” who had locked him up, claiming he needed £5,000 – which later rose to £6,500 – as a matter of “life and death”.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Menzies said: “It has been an enormous privilege representing the people of Fylde since 2010, but due to the pressures on myself and my elderly mother, I have decided to resign from the Conservative Party and will not stand at the forthcoming general election.
“This has been a very difficult week for me and I request that my family’s privacy is respected.”
The statement implies that Mr Menzies will sit as an independent MP until the next election, meaning Rishi Sunak will not have to face another potentially tricky by-election.
Behaviour ‘falls below standards expected’
Meanwhile, the Tories said they had completed their investigation into the matter and “cannot conclude that there has been a misuse of Conservative Party funds”.
But the party does believe “there has been a pattern of behaviour that falls below the standards expected of MPs and individuals looking after donations to local campaign funds which lie outside the direct jurisdiction of the Conservative Party”.
It also said it would be reviewing whether Mr Menzies’ actions had “potentially breached the Nolan Principles of Public Life”.
It follows reports that Tory activists in Fylde had been advised not to hand out leaflets with Mr Menzies’ face on. He had been facing calls from Conservative Party members in the area to step down as an MP, with some describing his behaviour as “disappointing” and “concerning”.
On Friday, Lancashire Police said it had launched a review into the matter after receiving a complaint from the Labour Party.
Ministers ‘sat on their hands’
The Tories have also faced questions over their handling of the case, with Labour claiming the party “sat on their hands” for more than three months after finding out about the claims, while the Liberal Democrats called for the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests to investigate the management of the row.
Mr Menzies has represented the Lancashire constituency of Fylde since 2010, where he holds a majority of around 17,000.
A former climate change minister, he relinquished the Tory whip last week after the allegations about his behaviour – which he has “strongly” disputed – first emerged in The Times. He has also been suspended from his unpaid role as a Government trade envoy to Colombia.
A Tory spokesman said: “The Conservative Party has now completed its investigation into whether there was a misuse of Conservative Party funds.
“The money in question that was sent to Mark Menzies MP was signed off by the two signatories of Fylde Westminster Group. This body sits outside of the remit of both the Conservative Party and Fylde Conservative Association. Therefore we cannot conclude that there has been a misuse of Conservative Party funds.
“However, we do believe that there has been a pattern of behaviour that falls below the standards expected of MPs and individuals looking after donations to local campaign funds which lie outside the direct jurisdiction of the Conservative Party.
“We will therefore be commencing with retraining individuals across the party on how to manage these accounts which fall outside of the remit of the Conservative Party and are introducing a whistleblowing helpline.
“Furthermore, whilst outside of the initial scope of this investigation, there has also been a recommendation that the actions of the MP in question have also potentially breached the Nolan Principles of Public Life. This is due to the nature of the allegations made, but also the repetitive nature of these separate allegations. These will be reviewed by the Conservative Party’s member governance team.
“We will of course share any information with the police if they believe it would be helpful to any investigation they decide to undertake. Suggestions the Party has not been seriously examining this matter are demonstrably false as we have worked to protect the identities of all those involved whilst the facts could be established.”
Mr Menzies previously said in a statement: “I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations.”
