Police to review claims Tory MP Mark Menzies allegedly misused £14,000 of ... trends now
Lancashire Police have said they will review claims that Tory MP Mark Menzies allegedly misused thousands of pounds of campaign funds to pay off 'bad people' who locked him in a flat.
The Fylde MP has been suspended from the party whip and dropped as one of the PM's trade envoys.
Mr Menzies disputes the allegations and the Tory Party has said it is looking into the claims and takes them seriously.
Now, in a statement on Friday evening, a Lancashire Police spokesperson has said: 'We can confirm that we have now received a letter detailing concerns around this matter and we are in the process of reviewing the available information in more detail.'
After a speech in London this morning, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dodged when asked whether Mr Menzies should stand down from the Commons.
MP Mark Menzies (pictured) had the whip suspended and was axed as a trade envoy over the extraordinary allegations
In a round of interviews this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said it 'remains to be seen' whether police will investigate
'It's right that Mark Menzies has resigned the Conservative whip,' he replied.
'He's been suspended from his position as a trade envoy whilst the investigations into those allegations continue.
'For our part I can't comment on our ongoing investigation while it's happening, and he's no longer a Conservative MP, as I said.'
Earlier, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said it 'remains to be seen' whether police will investigate.
Mr Stride told Sky News: 'That remains to be seen. The fact the Labour Party have written to the police is maybe a fact, but it doesn't mean the police are investigating – but let's see where that goes.
'But the important point that I'm making is that we are investigating that, and so Conservative HQ is looking now very closely into the circumstances around the various reports that have been made, and the whip has been removed from Mark Menzies in the meantime.'
Mr Menzies is said to have 'angrily' called an elderly former mayoress at 3.15am one day last December demanding that she release £5,000 from a local campaign account as a 'matter of life and death' because he had been locked in a flat.
Local party stalwart Katie Fieldhouse, 78, refused, but another party worker reportedly cashed in an Isa to cover the payment, later being reimbursed from money raised by local donors
Separately, a further £14,000 given for use on Tory campaign activities was also allegedly transferred to Mr Menzies' personal bank accounts and used to pay private medical expenses.
Sources close to the MP - who disputes the allegations - said he offered to repay the 'ransom' money but was told he did not need to.
The 78-year-woman allegedly awoken at 3.15am by Mr Menzies demanding money because he had been locked up by 'bad people' is Katie Fieldhouse (pictured)
Shirley Green (left) bailed out Mark Menzies (centre) by giving him the cash. They are pictured with councillor Karen Harrison at St Annes Charity Carnival in July last year
Last night, one of those who nominated Mr Menzies at the last election joined Keir Starmer in calling for a police investigation. Mr Menzies denies any wrongdoing.
Tory activist Caroline Sheppard, who seconded Mr Menzies' nomination in 2019, said: 'I think he is disgusting as an individual and for what he put a 78-year-old woman through.
'There should be a police investigation. This was not his money. It belongs to his constituents.'
Sir Keir said: 'There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in relation to these allegations, not least why it seems the Conservative Party took so long to act and whether they've reported this to the police, who, it seems to me, should be involved in this.'
Ms Fieldhouse said yesterday that she had given a full account of last December's alleged incident
