Convicted former Tory MP withdraws from election race amid criticism

13 November 2019, 07:28

A former Tory MP who lost his seat after being convicted of false expenses claims has quit the race after briefly becoming the official Conservative candidate for Ynys Mon.

Chris Davies plead guilty in March to providing false or misleading information on allowances claims while he was the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire.

He was ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work and was fined £1,500 and his seat was forfeited after enough voters signed an electoral petition to remove him at a recall petition.

"I will not want to put my wife and family through any more distress," the former Brecon and Radnorshire MP said.

Announcing his decision to withdraw from the election, Mr Davies said: "Given the reaction in the media to the idea of me being a candidate, I have decided to pull out of the selection process."

Within hours of being announced as a candidate for the marginal seat of Ynys Mon, the Welsh Conservatives issued a statement saying Mr Davies has changed his mind.

They said: "Chris Davies has decided to pull out of the process to select a parliamentary candidate for Ynys Mon following critical comments in the media."

The Lib Dems hit out at the choice of Mr Davies as a candidate suggesting it showed the "Tories' contempt for voters."

Deputy Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Christine Humphreys said: "Over 10,000 people signed the recall petition and decisively rejected Chris Davies at the ballot box in August because they had enough of an MP who put their constituency on the map for all the wrong reasons.

"By selecting Chris Davies to contest Ynys Môn, the Conservatives have demonstrated their utter contempt for the voters of Ynys Môn. This shows they can offer nothing more than an MP who has admitted to providing false information about his expenses claims."