I was raped but Tories hounded me out

A FORMER Tory activist who claims she was raped by a party employee today blasts senior Conservatives for ignoring her warnings over sex abuse and harassment.

Lisa Wade says she made an official complaint about young volunteers being preyed on by MPs while campaigning on the Tories’ infamous “battle bus” before the 2015 election.

She says: “The culture of abuse and harassment is so entrenched. I saw some MPs target girls who were so drunk they couldn’t stand. And I quickly realised lots of them and other senior officials saw young girls as fair game.

“One teenager I found sobbing in the toilets asked me, ‘Is it always like this?’ It broke my heart to tell her that, yes, it was.” Lisa made her complaint after she had to fight off one Tory official herself at a hotel during a stop at a marginal constituency.

She recalled: “I managed to get away from him but I felt sick to my stomach.

“I knew he was dangerous and I had to make the party aware. But that only made me more of a target.”

She says she found herself hounded by the official’s pals and nothing was done about her report. Lisa, in her 20s, quit the party in disgust. But she claims her ordeal didn’t end there.

Just months later she alleged she was raped by another Tory employee who was arrested and charged – but the case was dropped by the CPS. He had texted to ask if he could visit her at her flat.

Lisa claimed she’d barely opened the door to him when he allegedly leapt on her and pinned her to her bed.

She claims: “I went into survival mode. I tried to struggle. I was flailing and screaming, hoping neighbours might hear.

“But I realised I was no match for his strength. He knew the rumours about me, that no one had taken me seriously when I’d made my first complaint.”

She contacted police and the man was arrested and charged before the CPS decided not to take the case to court.

Furious Lisa then reported the alleged rape to Parliament this August. She was assured by a clerk the matter would be referred to Commons leader Andrea Leadsom and the then chief whip Gavin Williamson. But she heard nothing of the matter for three months.

Lisa says: “I’ve been to hell and back. I have no faith the Tories will take any report of sexual abuse seriously.

She said Mrs Leadsom left her a voicemail on Friday, but left no contact details.

Mrs Leadsom said last night: “I was not aware of the details of this case until last week. I’m sorry we couldn’t speak on Friday and I hope we can talk soon.”

Mr Williamson says the parliamentary clerk didn’t pass on the rape allegation to him and he wasn’t aware of it.