Tory MP Mark Menzies stands down after being accused of misusing campaign funds

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Mark Menzies has announced he will stand down as an MP at the next election.

The 52-year-old reportedly spent thousands of pounds given by donors on medical expenses and made a late-night call to a 78-year-old aide asking for help because he had been locked up by “bad people” demanding money for his release.

The Conservatives had already suspended Mr Menzies over allegations he misused campaign funds.

In a statement, Mr Menzies said: “It has been an enormous privilege representing the people of Fylde since 2010, but due to the pressures on myself and my elderly mother, I have decided to resign from the Conservative Party and will not stand at the forthcoming general election.

“This has been a very difficult week for me and I request that my family’s privacy is respected.”

The Ayrshire-born Tory MP for Fylde, Lancashire will continue to be a sitting MP on full salary until the next election.

Mr Menzies won his seat at the 2010 general election after unsuccessfully standing for two seats in Glasgow and Yorkshire. He was considered to be on David Cameron’s so-called “A-List” of top tier parliamentary candidates.

In 2014 Mr Menzies resigned as a ministerial aide to then international development minister Alan Duncan after a report he had paid a Brazilian male escort for sex.

In December the MP, who is one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys, rang his former campaign manager claiming he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.

The sum, which rose to £6,500, was eventually paid by his office manager from her personal bank account and subsequently reimbursed from funds raised from donors in an account named Fylde Westminster Group, it is alleged.

In an earlier 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.”

This is a breaking news story… More to follow…

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