Tory MP suspended over alleged misuse of funds

A Conservative MP has been suspended by the party following claims he misused campaign funds.

Mark Menzies allegedly asked his former campaign manager for money to pay "bad people" who he said had detained him overnight in a flat, the Times reports.

He has lost the party's whip while an investigation is carried out.

Mr Menzies, who represents the Fylde constituency in Lancashire, told the Times he "strongly disputed" the allegations.

According to the newspaper, Mr Menzies phoned his former campaign manager, now a party volunteer, at 03:15 last December saying he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of "life and death".

The sum was reportedly paid later that morning, by which time it had risen to £6,500, from the personal savings of Mr Menzies' office manager, who was reimbursed from campaign donations, the paper said.

A source close to Mr Menzies told the Times he paid the money because he was scared of what would happen if he refused, but didn't have enough in his own savings.

Mr Menzies offered to repay the funds but claimed local Tories who controlled the account the money came from said he didn't need to, a source told the paper.

The Times also reports Mr Menzies phoned his former campaign manager four years ago seeking £3,000 from campaign funds to cover medical bills and promising to repay the money later.

A source close to Mr Menzies disputed the claim that it had been the MP's suggestion to use campaign funds to pay his medical bills, the paper reported.

The MP is understood to have later received a further £4,000 and then, in November of last year, another £7,000, the paper said.

None of the money allegedly transferred to Mr Menzies to cover medical expenses - £14,000 in total - was repaid, according to the Times.

The paper says the Conservative Party was made aware of the allegations in January, when the former campaign manager reported what had happened to the chief whip, Simon Hart.

BBC News has contacted Mr Menzies for comment and he is yet to respond.

In a statement to the Times, Mr Menzies said: "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."

A Conservative Party spokesman said: "The Conservative Party is investigating allegations made regarding a member of parliament. This process is rightfully confidential."

A spokesperson for Mr Hart told the BBC: "Following a call with the chief whip, Mark Menzies has agreed to relinquish the Conservative whip, pending the outcome of an investigation."

Losing the whip means an MP is effectively expelled from their parliamentary party and must sit as an independent unless the whip is restored.