Mark Menzies, the MP accused of misusing campaign funds to cover medical expenses and pay off "bad people" who had reportedly held him hostage in a flat, has announced his resignation from the Conservative Party, adding that he will not be standing at the next general election.
In a statement released today, Menzies said: "It has been an enormous privilege representing the people of Fylde since 2010, but due to the pressures on myself and my elderly mother, I have decided to resign from the Conservative Party and will not stand at the forthcoming general election.
"This has been a very difficult week for me and I request that my family’s privacy is respected."
Menzies had been suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party while an investigation into his alleged misappropriation of funds - which he disputed - was underway.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said that the investigation had come to an end, but the party "cannot conclude that there has been a misuse of Conservative Party funds".
Menzies had been suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party while an investigation into the allegations was ongoing
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But the backbench MP will remain in Parliament, where he represents Fylde in Lancashire, until the as-yet-uncalled general election.
He is said to have called a 78-year-old former campaign manager at 3.15am claiming he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000 as a matter of "life and death".
According to a source close to Menzies, he had met a man on an online dating website and visited his flat, before subsequently going with another man to a second address where he continued drinking.
He was said to have been sick at one point, prompting several people at the address to demand £5,000, claiming it was for cleaning up and other expenses.
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A Tory party statement said investigators "cannot conclude that there has been a misuse of Conservative Party funds"
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The source alleged Menzies decided to pay them because he was scared of what would happen otherwise, but did not have the funds to transfer the money from his own savings.
While according to the the Times, £14,000 given by donors for use on Tory campaign activities had been transferred to Menzies' personal bank accounts and was used for private medical expenses.
Lancashire Police had launched an investigation into Menzies after officers received a formal complaint from Labour Party chairwoman and MP for Oxford East Anneliese Dodds.
A spokesperson from Lancashire Police had said: "We can confirm that we have now received a letter detailing concerns around this matter and we are in the process of reviewing the available information in more detail."
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "The Conservative Party has now completed its investigation into whether there was a misuse of Conservative Party Funds.
"The money in question that was sent to Mark Menzies MP was signed off by the two signatories of Fylde Westminster Group. This body sits outside of the remit of both the Conservative Party and Fylde Conservative Association. Therefore we cannot conclude that there has been a misuse of Conservative Party funds.
"However, we do believe that there has been a pattern of behaviour that falls below the standards expected of MPs and individuals looking after donations to local campaign funds which lie outside the direct jurisdiction of the Conservative Party.
"We will therefore be commencing with retraining individuals across the Party on how to manage these accounts which fall outside of the remit of the Conservative Party and are introducing a Whistleblowing helpline.
"Furthermore, whilst outside of the initial scope of this investigation, there has also been a recommendation that the actions of the MP in question have also potentially breached the Nolan principles of public life. This is due to the nature of the allegations made, but also the repetitive nature of these separate allegations. These will be reviewed by the Conservative Party’s member governance team.
"We will of course share any information with the Police if they believe it would be helpful to any investigation they decide to undertake. Suggestions the Party has not been seriously examining this matter are demonstrably false as we have worked to protect the identities of all those involved whilst the facts could be established."