Sex scandal MP breaks silence

EAST Staffordshire MP Andrew Griffiths has broken his silence on constituency matters by pledging to help workers at a firm which has lost a major contract.

Mr Griffiths, whose constituency covers Mayfield and Ellastone, has not spoken publicly about any issues in his patch since being exposed in July for sending sexually explicit text messages to two Burton barmaids.

But now, after it emerged Kerry Foods in Burton had lost a major contract to supply Tesco with ready meals, the married father-of -one has spoken out.

He said: “This announcement from Kerry Foods is disappointing and worrying for the workforce. There are lots of skilled staff at Kerry making excellent products and I hope new contracts will quickly be found to replace the work.

“I will be meeting representatives of Kerry Foods urgently to discuss the situation and what I can do to assist.”

East Staffordshire Trades Council (TUC) secretary William Walker said: “All of a sudden he’s back and he’s made these comments – as if it’s business as usual and his actions have been forgotten.

“Well, we’ve certainly not forgotten and his constituents haven’t.”

Kerry Foods workers have told the News Telegraph’s sister paper, the Burton Mail, they were worried for their jobs after the factory lost its contract to supply Tesco’s Indian and oriental ready meals.

There will now be an eightmonth transition period while the contract changes hands and Kerry’s looks for new deals to fill the void.

Mr Griffiths’ absence from Parliament since the scandal broke included its summer six-week recess and a 10-day break for party conferences.

After the scandal broke, he resigned as Small Business Minister and was voluntarily suspended from the Tory party while it investigates his conduct.