UK Conservatives suspend lawmaker as sleaze allegations swirl over possible misuse of party funds

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s governing Conservative Party suspended a lawmaker who is alleged to have misused campaign funds. The Times of London claims Mark Menzies used donors’ money for personal medical expenses and to pay off someone who was threatening him. Its report includes a claim Menzies called an aide at 3 a.m. asking for help because he had been locked in an apartment by “bad people” who were demanding money. Menzies said he strongly disputed the allegations. The Conservative whips’ office said Menzies had “agreed to relinquish the Conservative whip, pending the outcome of an investigation.”  The case is the latest allegation of sleaze to hit the Conservatives, who have lost several lawmakers to ethics scandals in the past two years.