Former Stoke-on-Trent MP Jo Gideon has accused the Tory branch of bullying her and revealed that it is the reason she will be standing down in the next election.
The Conservative minister spoke to Martin Daubney on GB News and said: "I got wind of the fact that I was likely to be deselected and it followed a lack of support from the small number who formed the local federation.
"So I took the decision that I would make a dignified exit rather than being humiliated, having been treated so badly over the three and a half years before the reselection and, out of loyalty to the party, I was deliberately vague about the reason, because I thought that they would go on to sort it out. They didn't.
"I feel that now it is the time that I have to set the record straight because I don't want to leave Stoke on Trent with people thinking that I chose to go.
"I would have loved to have stood again to be their MP for the next term. And I would have fought a good fight."
She explained that she "didn't want to go into detail" about the sorts of bullying she was subjected to but "it is painful".
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "We thank Jo Gideon for the fantastic work she did as the MP for Stoke Central and wish her well for the future.
"Throughout the four years Jo has been an MP she has brought in millions in investment and been a proud champion of her constituents in Westminster.
"We have a wide range of candidates standing at this election from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life."
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