BY BEN KERRIGAN
The Conservative party has been hit my claims of bullying , sexual assault and intimidation, in a major blow to its reputation under the leadership of David Cameron. Following the suicide in September of a youth activist.
Mr Shapps told the prime minister the “buck should stop with me” concerning issues while he was party co-chairman.
Mark Clarke, the party’s youth organizer, has rejected the damaging allegations that surfaced since the death of 21 year old Elliott Johnson. The denial is unsurprising for a party that has been embroiled in allegations of historic child sex abuse dating as far back as the days of the Iron Lady , Maggie Thatcher. It would be naive for anyone to expect an admission or any proposal of a concession to the victims of the prohibited bullying, despite the irreversible fate of the now deceased youngster who had great ambitions for his political career.
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The resignation of Mr Shapps- the former international development minister speaks volume despite his insistence that neither he or the party could find any record of written allegations of bullying, sexual abuse or blackmail made to the chairman’s office before last May’s general elections
SHOCKED
The MP stated that “I cannot help but feel that the steady stream of those who raised smaller, more nuanced, objections should have perhaps set alarm bells ringing sooner.
“In the end, I signed that letter appointing Mark Clarke ‘director of RoadTrip’ and I firmly believe that whatever the rights and wrongs of a serious case like this, responsibility should rest somewhere.
“Over the past few weeks – as individual allegations have come to light – I have come to the conclusion that the buck should stop with me.”
He said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by Mr Johnson’s death.
Mr Clarke had been struck off a list of approved Tory election candidates after complaints were made about his behaviour in 2010 and in his letter, Mr Shapps acknowledged having given him a “second chance”.
Nick Hurd, the MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, is to replace Mr Shapps as international development minister.
SKEPTICISM
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Meanwhile, skepticism has been expressed about the integrity and reliability of the internal investigation in relation to the matter. Calls for the party chairman, Lord Feldman, who is conducting the internal inquiry to stand down from his position amid claims he did not respond to warnings about Mr Clarke casts a dark shadow over the process of the inquiry itself. It says a lot about those who were aware of the bullying if no action was taken, and gives the impression that the bullying was inadvertently endorsed by highly ranked individuals in the party if they failed to act in defense of those who were being maltreated. The party has a lot of cleaning up to do if it has shady characters among them presenting themselves as honorable individuals
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