MP Lucy Allan accused of bullying by local ex chair

An MP has been accused of bullying by her own former Tory association chair.

Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford, is accused by Tammy Wood of waging a "personal vendetta" against her.

Ms Wood quit as the chair this month, alongside six of seven officers in the local Conservative association management team.

Ms Allan emphatically denies Ms Wood's allegations, saying they are "completely false".

Ms Wood alleges that, behind the scenes, she had been subject to multiple complaints made by Ms Allan over the course of the past year, in a campaign she believes was intended to bully her out of the local party.

"Her behaviour has actually surprised me," said Ms Wood. "The attacks she's made on me... I'm absolutely disgusted by it.

"Since I became chairman I understand she has put consistent complaints in, some of which I've seen and some I haven't, but I have been told categorically by the party that they have all been overturned."

Ms Wood said a further claim about her by Ms Allan following her resignation had pushed her to speak out about how the MP's behaviour left her feeling unable to continue in the role.

"Her personal vendetta against me was the final straw," she said. "I decided I would leave, leave politics behind and serve my residents as an independent and move away from it... but obviously that still isn't good enough for her."

The BBC has verified there are no complaints or disciplinary processes under way or pending against Ms Wood.

Ms Wood's resignation letter, which includes her claims about Ms Allan and alleged bullying, was sent to the Conservative Campaign headquarters (CCHQ) complaints team.

The resignation letter also requests the complaints team contact her.

Ms Wood claims members of staff and volunteers have previously raised concerns about Ms Allan's interaction with them.

The claims have been put to CCHQ and their West Midlands regional press officer said: "We have an established code of conduct and formal processes where complaints can be made in confidence.

"Staff are available to help throughout the complaints process."

CCHQ has been asked whether there are any complaints about Ms Allan in their system. They said they had no further comment to make.

Ms Allan was adopted as the Telford Conservative candidate in 2013 and elected in 2015 - the same year she was accused by two of her staff of "vicious" bullying, although the claims were subsequently dropped and no action was taken against her by the party.

She emphatically denied those claims and, at the time, said she herself had been the victim of a "co-ordinated, orchestrated cyber-bullying campaign connected to a group of councillors".

In the intervening nine years there have been at least seven chairs of the local Conservative party, which Ms Wood said was "an unusually high number", with a three-to-five-year term allowed.

According to Ms Wood, the 2019 general election also saw conflict with local paid staff, to the extent a protocol was put in place so staff did not have to interact directly with Ms Allan and they would instead speak only through an intermediary.

The BBC has seen an email confirming this single point of contact was London MP for Sutton & Cheam Paul Scully, who at the time was vice chairman of the national party.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly set out how he wants his party to operate with integrity, professionalism and accountability.

A spokesman for Lucy Allan said Ms Wood had become chair in June this year, before making a number of media appearances opposing the Conservative leadership process where Mr Sunak became prime minister and had resigned in November.

"Lucy has been made aware that Ms Wood has made allegations to the media about her," he said. "No concerns were expressed to Lucy or her team at any time.

"Lucy is not aware of any complaints being made to the Conservative Party or to any third party by Ms Wood. Lucy refutes the allegations in full. No further comment will be made."

Ms Allan also provided a statement from a Telford Conservative spokesperson, which said: "Lucy has the full support of the Telford Conservatives. Lucy has been our candidate and our MP for almost 10 years and shown herself to be diligent, caring and hard working.

"Ms Wood decided to resign from the party due to concerns about the party leadership. Many of the claims Ms Wood has made appear to relate to people and events that predate her involvement with the Conservative Party by some years.

"Ms Wood's only contact with Lucy during her tenure was at formal party meetings and the conduct at these meetings was always professional. The party takes all complaints of bullying and harassment seriously. The party will not be making any further statements in connection with these claims."