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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| MP Charlie Elphicke 'does not know what he is accused of' | MP Charlie Elphicke 'does not know what he is accused of' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Conservative MP suspended by his party after "serious allegations" were made against him says he still does not know what he is accused of. | A Conservative MP suspended by his party after "serious allegations" were made against him says he still does not know what he is accused of. |
| Charlie Elphicke, a former party whip who has been the MP for Dover and Deal since 2010, has denied any "criminal wrongdoing". | Charlie Elphicke, a former party whip who has been the MP for Dover and Deal since 2010, has denied any "criminal wrongdoing". |
| In a statement, the married 46-year-old said: "So what then is [the] explanation for what I am accused of?" | In a statement, the married 46-year-old said: "So what then is [the] explanation for what I am accused of?" |
| The Conservative Party has not yet commented on his statement. | The Conservative Party has not yet commented on his statement. |
| Referring to an explanation for his suspension, Mr Elphicke said: "I cannot give one. Because I do not know what I am accused of." | Referring to an explanation for his suspension, Mr Elphicke said: "I cannot give one. Because I do not know what I am accused of." |
| The Conservatives have recently published a new code of conduct for MPs and other elected representatives. | The Conservatives have recently published a new code of conduct for MPs and other elected representatives. |
| 'Denial of justice' | |
| Mr Elphicke, who was suspended last Friday, added: "The fact is that this whole area of reporting misconduct and managing allegations of misconduct is a mess." | Mr Elphicke, who was suspended last Friday, added: "The fact is that this whole area of reporting misconduct and managing allegations of misconduct is a mess." |
| He said he had received no further information since being told by the chief whip that serious allegations made against him had been passed to the police. | |
| "I asked what the allegations were and he would not tell me," he said. | |
| "He only said that he and the prime minister had decided the whip should be suspended from me. | |
| "So extraordinary as it may seem, I am no wiser now than I was on Friday evening." | |
| Mr Elphicke said it was "a denial of justice when people who have had allegations made against them, lose their job or their party whip without knowing what those allegations are". | |
| He said this was "fundamentally wrong" and an "injustice to those who stand accused". | |
| Everyone should be "equal before the law", and was "innocent until proven otherwise". | |
| Mr Elphicke concluded: "Whatever it turns out I stand accused of, I deny any criminal wrongdoing." |