Julian Knight speaks out for the first time after complaint made to police
A SENIOR MP being probed by the Metropolitan Police has claimed he’s the victim of a “campaign of rumour and innuendo”.
Julian Knight had the Tory whip removed yesterday after a complaint was made to the force.
It came on the same day that senior Labour MP Conor McGinn had the whip suspended after a complaint was lodged against him.
A spokeswoman for Conservative Chief Whip Simon Hart said: “Following a complaint made to the Metropolitan Police this evening, we have removed the whip from Julian Knight MP with immediate effect.”
Mr Knight has recused himself from Parliament while investigations are ongoing.
He described having the whip removed as “wrong and unjustified”.
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And in a statement published this morning the senior backbencher said he is yet to personally hear from the Whips Office or the Met.
“I have heard nothing from the police, the Whips Office or Parliament’s Internal Grievance Service, or been the subject of any investigation by the latter,” Mr Knight tweeted.
“Nor have I ever been warned or spoken to by the Whips office about any allegations of misconduct.”
The MP added: “I believe their withdrawal of the whip is wrong and unjustified. Some months ago I accepted the resignation of a staff member following a full enquiry into his conduct regarding House of Commons security issues and, separately, allegations of bullying against him.
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“Subsequently, I have received what my lawyers advise are explicit threats involving blackmail as well as being at the centre of a campaign of rumour and innuendo. All matters are now with my lawyers and I will be recusing myself from Parliament until the matter is resolved.”
Mr Knight is the chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee and has represented Solihull in the West Midlands since 2015.
He becomes the fifth MP to currently have the Conservative whip removed.
They include Matt Hancock, who had the whip removed from him after abandoning the Commons to go on I’m A Celebrity.
It comes on the same day that a senior Labour MP had the whip suspended after a complaint was lodged against him.
Conor McGinn, the MP for St Helens North in Merseyside since 2015, will also have his party membership withdrawn while a complaint into him is investigated, it is understood.
He said he was confident the complaint, which has not been made public, was “entirely unfounded”.
McGinn is seen as an ally of party leader Sir Keir Starmer, working on election campaigns and part of the team credited with strong results in May’s local polls.
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Meanwhile Baroness Michelle Mone also had the Tory whip removed amid a crime probe into £200m worth of PPE contracts.
The bra tycoon is being investigated by the House of Lords sleaze watchdog over claims she pressured ministers during the pandemic to award government contracts to PPE Medpro, a firm she allegedly has links to.