This letter reveals that the Conservative Party have been receiving complaints about Mark Clarke for a long time
Former Conservative party chairman Sayeeda Warsi has revealed in The Guardian today a letter she sent in January of this year to the then party chair Grant Shapps. In the letter she complained about the behaviour of Mark Clarke, the man at the center of bullying allegations within the Conservative party.
The question of who received complaints about Mark Clarke and whether these complaints were acted on is becoming an increasingly important one for the Conservative Party.
Clarke was thrown out of the party last week following allegations that he bullied and blackmailed other party members, including young activist Elliott Johnson who recently committed suicide.
Conservative Party Chairman Lord Feldman who threw Clarke out of the party has claimed that he had been "wholly unaware" of allegations aginst Clarke until August of this year, but in recent weeks Conservative party members such as MP Ben Howlett have been coming forward to say that they have been complaining about Clarke for a long time.
Warsi's letter is important because it is proof that on at least one occasion an official complaint was sent to a senior member of the party. In the letter, Warsi accuses Clarke of lying about a speech she made, lies that led to her receiving abusive messages. Warsi claimed Shapps ignored the letter for two months before replying to say he would "raise this with the relevant individuals at CCHQ and look into the issue."
You can read the letter below:
Warsi probably revealed the letter to The Guardian because she wanted to cover her back, she was after all Conservative party chair herself at a time when Clarke was active in the party. We should expect more documents to be released to media as the Clarke story progresses; people involved in the scandal will seek to clear their names and pin the blame on others.