This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/18/mark-clarke-expelled-from-conservative-party-for-life-over-bullying-cliams
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mark Clarke expelled from Conservative party for life over bullying claims | Mark Clarke expelled from Conservative party for life over bullying claims |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The former Conservative election candidate Mark Clarke, who is at the centre of accusations of bullying and blackmail, has been expelled from the Tory party for life. | The former Conservative election candidate Mark Clarke, who is at the centre of accusations of bullying and blackmail, has been expelled from the Tory party for life. |
| The party first suspended Clarke’s membership pending an inquiry after a 21-year-old Tory activist, Elliott Johnson, accused Clarke of bullying him, before killing himself in September. | The party first suspended Clarke’s membership pending an inquiry after a 21-year-old Tory activist, Elliott Johnson, accused Clarke of bullying him, before killing himself in September. |
| The move to expel him was not welcomed by Johnson’s father, Ray, who said he was not satisfied, describing it as a “whitewash” that he believed was protecting more senior members of the party. | |
| Clarke, who ran unsuccessfully against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in Tooting, south London, in the 2010 election, was later accused of seeking to blackmail the cabinet minister Robert Halfon, by threatening to expose his affair with a Tory activist, to which Halfon later admitted. | Clarke, who ran unsuccessfully against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in Tooting, south London, in the 2010 election, was later accused of seeking to blackmail the cabinet minister Robert Halfon, by threatening to expose his affair with a Tory activist, to which Halfon later admitted. |
| In a statement released on Wednesday, a Conservative party spokesperson said: “In the light of information that has come to our knowledge this week, Mark Clarke’s membership of the Conservative party has been cancelled for life. This means he cannot be a candidate or represent the party in any way. | In a statement released on Wednesday, a Conservative party spokesperson said: “In the light of information that has come to our knowledge this week, Mark Clarke’s membership of the Conservative party has been cancelled for life. This means he cannot be a candidate or represent the party in any way. |
| Related: Former Tory parliamentary hopeful at centre of Elliott Johnson bullying claims | Related: Former Tory parliamentary hopeful at centre of Elliott Johnson bullying claims |
| “The party does not tolerate bullying or any other improper behaviour. [Conservative party chairman] Lord Feldman acted immediately to set up an internal disciplinary inquiry as soon as he received the allegations in August 2015, of which he was previously wholly unaware.” | “The party does not tolerate bullying or any other improper behaviour. [Conservative party chairman] Lord Feldman acted immediately to set up an internal disciplinary inquiry as soon as he received the allegations in August 2015, of which he was previously wholly unaware.” |
| Clarke worked as director of the Road Trip 2015 and Road Trip 2020 campaigns, which involved bussing hundreds of young activists to Tory target seats across the country. Roadtrip will no longer be authorised as a campaigning entity, a statement said, and the party’s lawyers and disciplinary committee will continue to investigate complaints received in relation to Roadtrip 2015. | Clarke worked as director of the Road Trip 2015 and Road Trip 2020 campaigns, which involved bussing hundreds of young activists to Tory target seats across the country. Roadtrip will no longer be authorised as a campaigning entity, a statement said, and the party’s lawyers and disciplinary committee will continue to investigate complaints received in relation to Roadtrip 2015. |
| The party said it would ensure that affiliated campaign groups would adopt the harassment and anti-bullying policy contained in the staff handbook, and that it would continue to give party members and activists access to a counselling service provided by Westfield Health. | The party said it would ensure that affiliated campaign groups would adopt the harassment and anti-bullying policy contained in the staff handbook, and that it would continue to give party members and activists access to a counselling service provided by Westfield Health. |
| Elliott Johnson, a Nottingham University graduate, who worked for the campaign group Conservative Way Forward, was found dead on the railway tracks at Sandy station, in Bedfordshire, on 15 September. Johnson had made a formal complaint to the party about Clarke before his death. | Elliott Johnson, a Nottingham University graduate, who worked for the campaign group Conservative Way Forward, was found dead on the railway tracks at Sandy station, in Bedfordshire, on 15 September. Johnson had made a formal complaint to the party about Clarke before his death. |
| On Wednesday, his father Ray told the Guardian: “CCHQ’s supposedly impartial investigation, conducted not by an independent person but by a party ‘insider’, was always going to cast Clarke adrift and having done this was going to slam the doors of CCHQ shut and hunker down in an attempt to weather the storm. | |
| “... My son and all those young activists damaged by Clarke and his supporters deserve better than those desperately clinging to the greasy pole within CCHQ.” | |
| Responding to allegations that he bullied Johnson, Clarke previously told the Guardian: “I strongly refute any suggestion of bullying or harassment. I am not making any further comment about this matter. The family have asked for privacy and I respect both their wishes and the coroner’s process.” | Responding to allegations that he bullied Johnson, Clarke previously told the Guardian: “I strongly refute any suggestion of bullying or harassment. I am not making any further comment about this matter. The family have asked for privacy and I respect both their wishes and the coroner’s process.” |
| Related: Tory minister Robert Halfon admits cheating on partner amid blackmail claims | Related: Tory minister Robert Halfon admits cheating on partner amid blackmail claims |
| Halfon, deputy chairman of the Conservatives and minister without portfolio, released a statement through the party following a report in the Mail on Sunday this weekend that Clarke had been seeking to blackmail him. | Halfon, deputy chairman of the Conservatives and minister without portfolio, released a statement through the party following a report in the Mail on Sunday this weekend that Clarke had been seeking to blackmail him. |
| “What I did was wrong, and I feel ashamed. I am not proud of myself. The most important thing to me is to continue to repair my relationship with my partner,” said Halfon. | “What I did was wrong, and I feel ashamed. I am not proud of myself. The most important thing to me is to continue to repair my relationship with my partner,” said Halfon. |
| Clarke told the Mail on Sunday: “I strongly refute any suggestion of bullying, harassment or intended/attempted blackmail.” | Clarke told the Mail on Sunday: “I strongly refute any suggestion of bullying, harassment or intended/attempted blackmail.” |