Former Conservative Tooting candidate, Mark Clarke, has been accused of six accounts of inappropriate sexual behaviour as part of an investigation into bullying within the headquarters of the Conservative Party.

The investigation, which was triggered by the death of Tooting Tory activist Elliott Johnson, also identified 13 alleged bullying victims of Mark Clarke, who stood as the Conservative Party candidate for Tooting in 2010.

The report, conducted by the law firm Clifford Chance, said there had be allegations Mr Clarke had propositioned activists or tried to kiss them. Of those five were not reported  to Conservative Campaigns Headquarters (CCHQ). However, it also found that there was no written published procedure or commonly adopted practice for Conservative party members to raise complaints.

Lawyers were instructed to “collect, collate, review and assess witness and documentary evidence” into allegations of bullying, harassment and other inappropriate behaviour by Mark Clarke and other members of the party connected to him between January 1, 2014,  to November 18, 2015,  with “particular attention to the circumstances leading up to Elliott Johnson’s death”.
 


 

In response to Clifford Chance’s report, the Conservative Party has committed to establishing new procedures for handling complaints, including a dedicated hotline and training for relevant party employees, published a code of conduct for volunteer leaders, as well as more clearly define complaint handling.

In September last year Mr Johnson claimed, in a note left when he killed himself, that he had been a victim of bullying from Mr Clarke, the so-called Tatler Tory.

Mr Clarke has previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

According to the report CCHQ also received positive feedback on Mr Clarke from volunteers and Members of Parliament who took part in RoadTrip events and that many interviewees had been “very positive about their experiences” and did not “observe or hear any complaints about bullying, harassment or inappropriate behaviour by Mr Clarke.

Sir Patrick McLoughlin, chairman of the Conservative Party, 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.”