Somerton and Frome Conservative MP David Warburton Suspended and Under Investigation

 

Somerton and Frome Conservative MP David Warburton is again under investigation and has been suspended.

BBC News has reported that:

"Conservative MP David Warburton has been suspended from the parliamentary party pending an investigation into allegations about his conduct.

The claims about Mr Warburton, who sits on the backbenches, are being examined by Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).

Conservative sources have told the BBC that three allegations of sexual harassment are being investigated.

Mr Warburton has been MP for Somerton and Frome since 2015."

We say again, because Warburton has been under investigation before. 

As Somerset Independents reported, Warburton was under investigation by Parliamentary standards late last year, when he along with other Somerset Tory MPs voted to ignore the corruption by Tory MP Owen Paterson, who eventually resigned his seat in disgrace.

Paterson's resignation caused a by-election in North Shropshire and the Liberal Democrats won the seat.

Leader of Somerset Independents, Andrew Pope, says:

Andrew Pope
Leader of Somerset Independents

"What will happen with David Warburton? Let's see...

Will he be forced to resign in disgrace like Tory MP Owen Paterson did?

Or will be like "naughty Tory" MP Charlie Elphicke and be found guilty of sexual harassment or potentially worse?

Or will David Warburton be banned from office like Tory Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate Jonathon Seed, who is now on trial? 

Or will Warburton be exonerated, like he claimed he was when last under investigation by Parliamentary standards?

We will see what happens, and the outcome of the investigation.

I challenged David Warburton directly at the time of the Paterson affair, over his record and over conflicts of interest. Typically for him, he did not respond.

Andrew Pope Challenging David Warburton

And what Somerset residents know is that like almost all Somerset Tory MPs, David Warburton is a poor MP.

David Warburton has not represented Somerset residents.

Residents contacted us to complain about David Warburton not responding to them over long periods of time and despite what method they used to try to contact him.

So I contacted the Conservative Chief Whip Mark Spencer who refused to intervene. Here is Spencer's response to me.

Letter From Chief Whip to Andrew Pope

And instead of representing the constituents of Somerset and Frome, David Warburton has emulated Owen Paterson in using his Parliamentary privileges to represent special interests, like repeat polluters and industrial cheese-makers Wyke Farms.

Instead of standing up for Somerset residents, Warburton stood up at Prime Minister's Questions to speak up for Wyke Farms. They are a serial polluter of Somerset's environment as showed by Environment Agency records uncovered by the investigations of Somerset Independents using Freedom of Information requests. Why did he do this?

The investigation into David Warburton is further justification for Somerset Independents to be continuing its campaign for ALL council and Parliamentary candidates to have mandatory DBS (criminal records) checks before they can even be declared a valid candidate - let alone get elected to represent UK citizens.

Right now - all around Somerset, council candidates for the Tories' hated and imposed New Somerset Council are being declared to be candidates WITHOUT having had criminal records checks.

Somerset Independents is boycotting this election because it will be an illegitimate Council and will inherit bad debts, bad councillors and bad officers. And the council candidates may have criminal records but voters will not know who they are voting for.

Somerset's councillors and MPs from the Conservatives, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour don't support these checks. We've asked Somerset councillors and MPs from the Westminster parties but these parties that set the law have not changed the law to back our campaign.

They don't support the checks despite the shameful convictions of Tory MPs like Charlie Elphicke and Labour MP Claudia Webbe, and the jailing of former South Somerset Lib Dem Council Leader Ric Pallister and Lib Dem Devon County Council Leader Brian Greenslade.

Instead, some of them have told us that our campaign is not a good idea and that it should be up to the parties to check their candidates. They cannot be trusted and they've proved it time and again - including with councillors who persistently refused to pay their own council tax and who have broken the law - as proved by our investigations, and councillors who have broken the law by voting on the council budget despite being disbarred due to their arrears. Yet their councils have refused to report them to the Police or carry out DBS checks - despite asking them to do so.

These MPs and councillors continue to bring elected office into disrepute and trust in elected representatives to new and worse lows.

And all the above guilty parties show again that you cannot trust the Tories or any of the Westminster parties - Labour, Green or Lib Dems - because they put themselves and their rotten Party ahead of the people of Somerset. They don't care about Somerset residents.

Somerset Independents put Somerset residents first. They deserve better MPs and councillors."