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Row deepens into MP's role in £10m loan to Northampton Town | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A split has emerged within the Conservative Party over the role Northampton South MP David Mackintosh played in a £10m football club loan. | |
Local Tories have said the party leadership is to investigate Mr Mackintosh's involvement in the failed 2013 loan to Northampton Town. | |
However, Conservative Central Office has denied the claim. | |
Mr Mackintosh was leader of Northampton Borough Council at the time the loan was approved. | |
Read more on this and other Northamptonshire news | |
A statement issued by Northampton South Conservative Association on Thursday said the party leadership "wishes to take a more in-depth look at the several issues" raised by an audit report last week. | |
Specifically, it wants to look at "the role played" by Mr Mackintosh. | Specifically, it wants to look at "the role played" by Mr Mackintosh. |
The association has also postponed a confidence vote due to be debated on Friday which expressed "concerns over the conduct" of Mr Mackintosh and its reputational damage. | |
However, Conservative Central Office issued its own statement reporting that "the Conservative Party is not investigating". It refused to comment further. | |
Analysis: Julian Sturdy, BBC Look East | |
This marks a widening of the rift between the local party and Tory HQ. | |
Over the past year local officials have publicly stood by their local MP as he faced repeated criticism over what he did before he became an MP. | |
With a majority under 4,000 there had been no appetite to attempt to force a by-election, while I'm told by a close source that Mr Mackintosh - who denies any wrongdoing - is no mood for standing down. | |
But something has changed and the fall-out between MP and the association which picked him has gone from private murmurings to open conflict. | |
Who'd be a fly on the wall in the open-plan office they share?" | |
The majority of the £10.25m given to the club, under its previous ownership, has gone missing. | The majority of the £10.25m given to the club, under its previous ownership, has gone missing. |
The PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report identified a number of issues with the approval and handing over of the money. | |
It claimed that, due to "political and management pressure", it was not properly checked. | |
Mr Mackintosh has previously apologised for his part in the approval of the loan, but said he "never asked or pressured officers to cut corners". | |
Northampton Town was given the £10.25m to redevelop Sixfields stadium three years ago, with much of it being passed to a company called 1st Land Ltd. | |
The company is now in liquidation while the work on Sixfields was not completed. | The company is now in liquidation while the work on Sixfields was not completed. |
A BBC investigation found Mr Mackintosh benefited from "hidden" donations of £30,000 to his general election fighting fund from 1st Land. The controversy is currently subject to a separate police inquiry. | A BBC investigation found Mr Mackintosh benefited from "hidden" donations of £30,000 to his general election fighting fund from 1st Land. The controversy is currently subject to a separate police inquiry. |
The MP has previously denied any wrongdoing. | The MP has previously denied any wrongdoing. |