Conservative party bullying probe finds thirteen alleged victims

Conservative Party Conference - credit NCVO London

A probe into bullying within the Conservative party has identified 13 people as being alleged victims of bullying or inappropriate conduct by former Tory activist Mark Clarke.

Law firm Clifford Chance was tasked with reviewing evidence of allegations against Mr Clarke between January 2014 and November 2015, after the suicide of 21-year-old Tory activist Elliott Johnson in September last year.

The internal inquiry was set up by former Tory chairman Lord Feldman in November after accusations against Clarke were found in Johnson’s suicide note.

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Reporting their findings today, Clifford Chance said 13 individuals were identified as being alleged victims of bullying or inappropriate conduct by Clarke, with six specific claims of sexually inappropriate behaviour.

Four cases were reported before August 2015, two made verbally to people who could not recall receiving the complaint and one considered not to be a complaint about bullying at the time.

Clarke has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

The lawyers said there were no evidence senior figures in the party, including former Tory chairman Lord Feldman and Grant Shapps, were made aware of the allegations of bullying or harassment before August 2015.

Instead, the lawyers say senior Tory staff, including the Conservatives’ election strategist Lynton Crosby, were aware of Clarke due to his inappropriate use of the job title “director in CCHQ".

The Tories have subsequently launched a code of conduct for volunteer leaders and training for party employees and leaders on how to implement it, alongside introducing a dedicated complaints procedure.

Tory chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: “The death of Elliott Johnson was a tragedy and our thoughts remain with his family and friends.

“As we address the findings of this report I want to make clear that there can be no place for bullying behaviour in our Party and we all have a responsibility to act when it occurs. The actions we are taking today will continue to ensure that volunteers, who are so vital to our Party, can flourish.

“Finally, I’m grateful to Clifford Chance for the thorough and timely way in which they have conducted this investigation.”

Clifford Chance interviewed 62 individuals over seven months, as it assessed whether CCHQ “deliberately ignored”, condoned or failed to respond properly to allegations against Mr Clarke.

Shapps was co-chairman of the Conservative party when Clarke was brought in to run the ‘Road Trip 2015’ campaign during the election.

The former minister later resigned from the Government amid accusations he failed to take action on the allegations of bullying by Clarke against young Tory activists.

The probe found that Shapps did express concerns about Clark’s involvement within the ‘Road Trip’ 2015 election campaign, citing his “reputation" during the 2010 election when he stood as a candidate in Tooting.

Following a discussion in June 2014, Clarke “gave him the strong impression that he had settled down and wanted a second chance”, Clifford Chance said.

The law firm concluded that while Shapps was aware of a “few instances of potential misconduct” relating to Clarke, there is “no evidence that Mr Shapps was aware of allegations of bullying or harassment of young activists by Mr Clarke or those associated with him prior to the 14 August 2015 Complaint.”

There was also no evidence other party figures including Lord Feldman,  Lord Gilbert, who was responsible for the target seats campaign at the 2010 election, and Tory strategist Lynton Crosby were aware of such allegations lodged against Clarke.

Johnson’s parents, who declined to take part in the inquiry, said: “We haven’t had a chance to read through the findings and make a complete assessment of them but we expected a whitewash and I believe that’s what we’re going to get. “The party has recognised there are failings but they are also saying they’ve done nothing wrong.

“We decided not to take part in the Clifford Chance inquiry due to concerns that Tory HQ would be pulling the strings from behind the scenes.”

Clarke also declined to be interviewed by Clifford Chance for their report.

His solicitor told the law firm: “Clarke has cooperated, and will continue to cooperate with the police, the coroner and any other statutory body charged with investigating any matters relating to the subject matter of Clifford Chance’s investigation on behalf of the Conservative party board.

“The police investigation into Elliott Johnson’s death and other enquiries are ongoing, and it is not appropriate to respond to allegations until the end of those processes. However, the allegations made against Mr. Clarke in the Clifford Chance report are wholly untrue and unsubstantiated. Many are based on totally fabricated media reports. All these allegations are vehemently denied.