Mark Menzies, a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010, has resigned from Britain’s Conservative Party and will not run in the forthcoming general election. This follows allegations involving the misuse of funds and an incident in which he was supposedly held hostage by unidentified individuals demanding a ransom. His office manager paid out £6,500 (~$8,100) from personal funds to resolve the situation, which was later reimbursed from political donations.
Menzies, 52, initially rang a 78-year-old female party volunteer after 3AM in December, according to reports. “Are you on your own? I’ve got in with some bad people, and they’ve got me locked in a flat, and they want £5,000 to release me,” he said.
The elderly lady declined to transfer the money due to the time, with the MP responding angrily that it was “a matter of life and death.”
She spoke to the MP’s constituency (electoral district) office manager in the morning, with the manager forced to take an elevated sum of £6,500 from her savings to clear the supposed debt. She was later paid back using campaign funds.
‘BELOW THE STANDARDS EXPECTED.’
An internal investigation by the Conservative Party determined Menzies had not violated party rules, as the payment had been authorized by a local donor group independent of the party. However, they withdrew the whip from him due to a “pattern of behavior that falls below the standards expected of MPs and individuals looking after donations to local campaign funds.”
Menzies is said to have demanded £35,000 (~$43,000) in party money to cover medical bills the day after the ransom was paid. He was told the money was unavailable, but it is reported that he acquired £14,000 (~$17,200) for medical expenses from donors.
The Conservatives, who have governed since 2010, must hold a general election no later than January 2025. They have suffered a wave of defections and resignations, with many MPs unwilling to stand again as polls point towards a historic, landslide defeat to the left-wing Labour Party.
