The Conservative party has sent an email appealing to young activists to come forward with any accusations of bullying after a 21-year-old killed himself last month.
In an email passed to BuzzFeed News the party chairman, Lord Feldman, asked activists from Conservative Future, a youth wing of the party, to send complaints to the party's chief executive.
This is the first time the party has directly appealed to activists to speak out after Elliott Johnson, a leading young party activist, died in an apparent suicide last month. An inquest into his death was told that the British Transport Police was investigating claims of bullying.
A number of people within the party have complained about alleged actions by Mark Clarke, who ran the party's national Roadtrip campaign, which bussed activists to marginal seats across the country. It is believed that Johnson complained about Clarke after a dispute in a pub in Westminster.
Following the accusations, Clarke and two other individuals were banned from the party's conference in Manchester. Clarke, a former parliamentary candidate previously dubbed the "Tatler Tory", had rebuilt his political career by launching the party's widely praised youth campaign.
The letter to Conservative activists on Thursday also reveals how the party will investigate Clarke, with a panel of the party's disciplinary committee meeting to discuss the complaints. That panel will be chaired by Edward Legard, a barrister and employment judge.
Feldman also informed activists that those affected by Johnson's death will be able to receive counselling.
This weekend, the Mail on Sunday revealed that more than 20 activists had filed official complaints to the party against Clarke. The previous week, he told the Mail that he denied the accusations and that young Conservatives were trying to stop him from exposing their "endemic drug use".
He said: "The party's response was to ignore and then suspend me. I wish they would take my concerns more seriously."
Read the full email:
From: Chairman (chairman@conservatives.com)
Date: 15 October 2015 at 12:12
Subject: no subject
To: [redacted]
Dear [Name redacted],
I am writing to you as a member of Conservative Future following recent events concerning a number of members and activists.
Firstly, I must reiterate the sadness of everyone in the Conservative Party at the news of Elliott Johnson's death last month. You may be aware that there is an ongoing coroner's inquiry and an investigation by the British Transport Police surrounding the circumstances of this.
Separately to that, the Party is undertaking a formal investigation following complaints of bullying received against a member of the Party. A panel of the Disciplinary Committee, under the chairmanship of Edward Legard, will hold a formal hearing in accordance with the Party's disciplinary procedures. Edward is a Barrister who specialises in employment and equality law and also sits as an Employment Judge.
Secondly, if any other complaints are made against members of the Party we will formally investigate these in accordance with our disciplinary procedures. The Party has always taken such complaints seriously and I can assure you that any complaint will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and confidentiality.
If you or any other member of CF wish to make such a complaint they should contact Simon Day, our Chief Executive, at simon.day@conservatives.com.
Thirdly, further to the tragic news of Elliott's death, the Party has arranged for Westfield Health to provide a counselling service to all staff and volunteers who may be affected. Should you or any other volunteer wish to use this service please contact Fiona Allmett in the Party's HR Department in total confidence on 020 7984 8007 so that she can make the necessary arrangements. The pastoral support of our staff and activists as well as the friends and family of Elliott are of paramount importance to us, so we would be grateful if you could pass this information on to anyone else who you may feel needs support.
Finally, as you may be aware the Party is currently undertaking a review of how it works. The final report and recommendations of the review will report to the Party Board in December with a final vote taking place at the National Conservative Convention next April. It, therefore, makes sense for the next elections for the CF National Executive to take place after this. As a result, I can confirm that these elections will take place by the end of June 2016.
I hope this is of use to you and please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you require any more information.
With best wishes,
Andrew
Conservative Party Chairman
People feeling suicidal or depressed can email jo@samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 08457 909 090 to receive confidential assistance.