Tatler Tory bully probe dismissed as a ‘whitewash’
A REPORT into the Tatler Tory scandal was dismissed as a ‘complete whitewash’ last night by the father of a young activist who committed suicide amid claims of bullying.
Commissioned by the Tories and carried out by a leading law firm, it exonerated the party’s top brass despite finding that 13 people had accused senior election aide Mark Clarke, 39, of harassment and inappropriate conduct.
The allegations included six of ‘sexually inappropriate behaviour’, among them claims Clarke had propositioned activists or tried to kiss them. Most of the accusations were never fully investigated by the party at the time.
The law firm Clifford Chance, which conducted the review, said Tory co-chairman Grant Shapps had given the aide a plum election role even though he had been warned of his record of ‘aggressive and bullying conduct’.
Despite this, the report concluded neither Mr Shapps nor his fellow co-chairman Lord Feldman – a friend of David Cameron dubbed ‘Lord Crony’ – knew about the extent of his bullying behaviour.
It said neither had been ‘aware of allegations of bullying or harassment of young activists by Mr Clarke’ before last August, when one of them, Elliott Johnson, 21, first complained to party high command about him.
Mr Johnson was found dead on railway tracks a month later. In a suicide note, he said he had been bullied by Clarke, known as the Tatler Tory because the society magazine once tipped him as a future Cabinet minister.
Condemning the inquiry as a ‘complete whitewash’ last night, Mr Johnson’s father Ray said: ‘The Conservative Party have spent a fortune on this report just to exonerate themselves. Sadly we expected a cover-up – that’s why we refused to take part in it.’
The report was published yesterday afternoon as Britain’s Olympic triumphs and the conclusion of the ‘Bunny Boiler’ murder trial dominated the news.
New Tory chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin pledged an overhaul of the complaints procedure for volunteers, including a hotline.
‘The death of Elliott Johnson was a tragedy and our thoughts remain with his family and friends,’ he said. ‘As we address the findings of this report, I want to make clear that there can be no place for bullying behaviour in our party and we all have a responsibility to act when it occurs.’
Mr Clarke did not co-operate with the report. Through his solicitors, he said: ‘The allegations against Mr Clarke in the Clifford Chance report are wholly untrue and unsubstantiated. Many are based on totally fabricated media reports. All these allegations are vehemently denied.’