Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Tories to probe sex text MP
Lewd messages are evidence
TORY investigators are examining a dossier of thousands of lewd messages sent to two barmaids by sex text MP Andrew Griffiths.
The evidence has been passed to officials probing a complaint the disgraced ex-minister breached the Conservative Party’s ethics code after his wrongdoing was exposed by the Sunday Mirror last month.
More than 2,000 messages, some of them demanding violent and degrading sex acts, will be reviewed by party officials as they decide whether to kick him out.
It has also emerged Mr Griffiths faces another investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commission. It will look into claims he brought Parliament into disrepute after we revealed the MP had even sent sex texts from within the corridors of power. Mr Griffiths, 47, is also facing calls to resign as MP for Burton and Uttoxeter after party members in his Staffordshire constituency met to discuss his actions this week. One councillor said: “There’s only one outcome. He has to step down for the sake of the party.”
Mr Griffiths, who was not at the meeting, clung on to his seat, but members were told his fate would be decided by party officials after their investigation. And more than 100 angry protestors met in his constituency yesterday calling for him to go.
The Tories requested their dossier of evidence from Imogen Treharne – one of the barmaids bombarded by the perverted texts. We have provided copies of the messages. Imogen, 28, has also been asked for a witness statement. We revealed last month that Mr Griffiths had bragged to her: “Daddy’s running the country.”
The married MP, whose wife had just had a baby, sent Imogen and her pal £700 for X-rated pictures and videos and offered to rent a flat where the trio could meet up for sex.
In his texts he suggested a string of depraved sex acts with his two constituents and described some degrading practices in shocking detail.
Mr Griffiths quit his post as small business minister as our exposé was about to surface. He said he was “deeply shamed”, apologised for embarrassing Prime Minister Theresa May and said he would be “seeking help”.
Since then John Anderson, an activist in Burton Upon Trent, has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, complaining that Mr Griffiths has undermined Parliament.
He wrote: “Whilst in Parliament he is being paid by taxpayers’ money to do a job of work. If his mind is on sex games with these two young ladies whilst in office it is obvious to me that his concentration on his work is affected, thus affecting any decisions made.”
Mr Griffiths was formerly a government whip and previously served as Theresa May’s chief of staff.
Imogen says he had followed her on social media for months before finally contacting her on June 16 after she had posted a racy video on Snapchat.
There was then talk of a threesome with Imogen and one of her pals who Mr Griffiths had spotted on social media.
Over the following three weeks, the trio exchanged thousands of messages and Mr Griffiths also paid the women cash for clothes and booze.
Imogen and her pal say they engaged with the MP consensually out of curiosity – until they felt his messages were becoming increasingly vulgar.
Mr Griffiths’ darker texts included threats of violence such as: “She’s so cute. So sweet. I can’t wait to beat her”.
The women say they broke off contact with the MP on July 6.
If his mind is on sex games with these two young ladies whilst in office his concentration on his work is affected
JOHN ANDERSON ACITIVIST WRITING TO PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS COMMISSIONER