Allegations against ex-Tory MP Mark Menzies referred to Lancashire police

The PA news agency understands that the Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds, wrote to Lancashire police calling for an investigation into the allegations about Menzies.

The Fylde MP lost the Conservative whip and was suspended as one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys after the Times published claims that he had used political donations to cover medical expenses and pay off “bad people” who had locked him in a flat and demanded thousands of pounds for his release.

Menzies’ former campaign manager, who allegedly received a late-night phone call from him asking for cash, has said she felt “let down” by the party after she raised concerns with the chief whip, Simon Hart.

The Times also reported that £14,000 given by donors for Tory campaign activities was transferred to Menzies’ personal bank accounts and used for private medical expenses.

On Friday night the Times reported that Fieldhouse had claimed she was told by a senior Tory official that the party had received legal advice suggesting the allegations against Menzies amounted to fraud.

A spokesperson for Hart said Menzies had “agreed to relinquish the Conservative whip, pending the outcome of an investigation”, meaning he would now sit as an independent MP.