, Labour Party Chair, has
written to Conservative Party Chairman, Ric Holden, questioning
the apparent lack of action in relation to “disturbing”
allegations against Mark Menzies MP.
It follows claims, reported in The Times, that Menzies forced his
constituency manager to pay thousands of pounds in cash to ‘bad
people' Menzies had found himself in a flat with last December,
and that this funding was repaid using funds from a secret
‘business group' set up to receive cash from local Tory
supporters in Fylde.
In the letter, Dodds poses a number to questions to the
Conservative Party, including what action was taken by the
Conservative Party, given the allegations were reported in
January, whether CCHQ advised the individual making the complaint
to contact the police, and whether CCHQ reported the matter to
the police themselves.
She adds that a Conservative employee says they believe the Party
wants to “brush [the allegations] under the carpet”, saying that
she trusts Holden will now take steps to show this is not the
case.
Anneliese Dodds, Labour Party Chair, said:
“These are deeply troubling allegations.
“Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party have serious questions to
answer about whether funds have been misused and why no action
has been taken despite the allegations reportedly being known
about since January.
“Rishi Sunak promised professionalism, integrity and
accountability at all levels. He has delivered stagnation,
scandal and sleaze which is engulfing his party. Britain deserves
better than this Conservative chaos.”
Ends
Notes
Full text of the letter
Dear Richard
I'm writing to you following extremely disturbing newspaper
reports about another Tory MP, Mark Menzies, MP for Fylde.
The Times reports Mark Menzies forced his constituency manager to
pay thousands of pounds in cash to ‘bad people' Menzies had found
himself in a flat with last December. It also appears that this
was just one of a number of incidents where Menzies elicited
funds from colleagues, supporters and donors.
Menzies then repaid this £6,500 using funds from a secret
‘business group' set up to receive cash from local Tory
supporters in Fylde.
The article raises extremely serious questions relating to
potential criminality, for example, under the Fraud Act and under
the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA).
In your role as Conservative Party Chairman, I write to address a
number of serious issues:
- The Conservative Party has reportedly been aware of these
serious accusations for over three months. What action was taken,
by whom, and when?
- When did CCHQ become aware of this incident?
- On being made aware of this incident, did CCHQ advise the
person involved to contact the police themselves?
- When presented with evidence of an MP involving junior staff
in paying thousands of pounds to ‘bad people', did you
immediately report this matter to the police? And if you have not
yet, why not and will you do so today?
- Will you give the police full access to all evidence you have
in this case?
- At least one of Menzies' donors is reported to have given a
“four-figure sum” to the Fylde group. Has this been declared with
the Electoral Commission?
- Is it common practice for Conservative party MPs to use money
donated for campaigning activities to instead pay their personal
expenses?
- According to the Conservative Party Constitution, the Board
of the Conservative Party is responsible for the Conservative
Party's compliance with PPERA. As Chairman of the Conservatives,
you chair the Board in the absence of Rishi Sunak. Can you
confirm that you and the Board have completely satisfied your
obligations under PPERA? Can you further confirm that the
Conservative Party are fully compliant with all relevant UK
electoral and donations law?
A long-serving Tory worker involved in this disturbing incident
says they believe the Conservative party wants to “brush it under
the carpet”. I trust you will now take all steps to show this is
not the case.
Yours sincerely
Anneliese Dodds MP
Chair of the Labour Party
