[arista]

[Mark Menzies "strongly" disputes the claims,
but has had the whip removed amid allegations
that he misused party funds and
abused his position.

The MP called an elderly party volunteer
saying he was locked in a flat and needed £5,000
as a matter of "life and death", the Times reports.

An eventual sum of £6,500 was paid to
secure his release, the paper says.

The money is reported to have come out
of local Conservative party funds and the
party is carrying out an an investigation.

According to the Times, Mr Menzies,
who represents Fylde, in Lancashire,
phoned his 78-year-old former campaign manager
at 03:15 last December to ask for £5,000.]

[The Times also reports Mr Menzies used
a total of £14,000 - in several payments stretching
back four years - from campaign funds to pay
his personal medical bills.

A source close to Mr Menzies disputed
the claim that it had been the MP's suggestion
to use campaign funds to pay his medical bills,
the paper reported,
but the Times says the money was not repaid.

The Conservative Party was made aware
of the allegations in January,
when Mr Menzies' former campaign manager reported
what had happened to the chief whip, Simon Hart.

BBC News has contacted Mr Menzies for
comment and he is yet to respond.]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68841840