Achi news desk-
The Fylde MP, who is originally from Ardrossan, Ayrshire, disputes the allegations reported by The Times but the Conservative Party is investigating the claims and taking them seriously.
A spokesman for Chief Whip Simon Hart said that Mr Menzies “has agreed to relinquish the Conservative whip, pending the outcome of an investigation”, meaning he will now sit as an Independent MP.
According to the Times, £14,000 donated by donors to be used on Tory campaign activities was transferred to Mr Menzies’ personal bank accounts and used for private medical expenses.
The MP, who is one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys, is also said to have called his 78-year-old former campaign manager at 3.15am one day in December, claiming he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
It is alleged that the sum, which rose to £6,500, was eventually paid by his office manager from her personal bank account and then repaid from money raised by donors in an account called Fylde Westminster Group.
READ MORE: MP in honey trap scandal resigns as Tory whip
According to a source close to Mr Menzies, the MP had met a man on an online dating website and went to the man’s flat, before then going with another man to a second address where he continued to drink. He was ill at one point and a number of people at the address were demanding £5,000, claiming it was for cleaning and other expenses.
The source said that Mr Menzies decided to pay them because he was afraid of what would happen otherwise, but he did not have the money to transfer the money from his own savings.
There are other occasions where Mr Menzies, who graduated from Glasgow University, is said to have used money from the campaign fund to cover his personal expenses.
In 2020 he allegedly sought £3,000 to pay medical bills, but did not repay the money and instead asked for and received another £4,000, The Times reported.
The newspaper said a source close to the MP disputed this account and that it was the former campaign manager who suggested Mr Menzies use money from the business account to cover his personal medical expenses, but it is understood that she denies this.
It is alleged that Mr Menzies received a further £7,000 from the account in November.
In a statement to The Times, Mr Menzies said: “I strongly dispute the allegations that have been put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for statements. As an investigation is underway I will not comment further.”
A spokesman for the Conservative Party said: “The Conservative Party is investigating allegations made about a Member of Parliament. This process is completely confidential.
“The party takes all allegations seriously and will always investigate any issues brought to them.”
The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, said it was “quite frankly” that the Conservative Party had been aware of the allegations for more than three months.
“When our national security is facing threats on many fronts, it is a matter of great concern that some MPs are so open to traps, threats and manipulations,” he said.
A decade ago Mr Menzies quit as a ministerial assistant following allegations about his behavior by a Brazilian male escort.
He was also questioned by the police regarding allegations that he had fed alcohol to a dog and had a fight with a friend in August 2015.
The Member of Parliament said that the matter was dropped after he showed officers pictures of his friend dousing the dog with alcoholic drinks.
