A devout Tory has said she has been “let down” by the Conservative Party after claiming her concerns about a sitting MP demanding thousands to free himself from an alleged kidnap attempt were “brushed under the carpet”.
Katie Fieldhouse, 78, a former Tory mayor and respected member of Fylde MP Mark Menzies’ constituency encompassing the coastal town of Lytham St Annes in Lancashire, says the MP rang her at 3.15am one December morning begging for £5,000 to pay “bad people”.
Mr Menzies lost the Conservative whip and was suspended as one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys after The Times published the claims this week.
Speaking through tears at her home, Ms Fieldhouse, a lifelong Tory activist, told the BBC: “I watch people go for a walk in this quiet area. Do I want them to go out and vote for a man who gets himself locked up and needs money to get him out? No.”
She recounted the conversation, saying the MP rang her up to say: “‘I’ve got in with some bad people and they’ve got me locked in a flat and they won’t let me out until I pay them £5,000.’ I said: ‘I beg your pardon.’ He said: ‘It’s life or death Katie, I need £5,000 from the account.’”
The sum, which rose to £6,500, was eventually paid by his office manager from her personal bank account and subsequently reimbursed from funds raised from donors in an account named Fylde Westminster Group, it is alleged.
She said she felt let down by the party, which she said failed to take any action over her allegations for months after she reported them to Simon Hart, the chief whip.
She added: “I am not having this brushed under the carpet. The party has let me down. I have said, my faith in the party is like my faith in God… they’ve let me down.
“The party has been part of my life, I’ve run every election campaign here for 40 years. I work myself into the ground for the party – all they hear is a 78-year-old little old lady.”
In better times, Mr Menzies had previously thanked the business woman and former ally for organising a National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast held at St Cuthbert’s Church.
Writing on his blog, he said: “My thanks to Rev Nick Wells and Katie Fieldhouse for arranging – the service was uplifting, as were the most welcome bacon butties and brews afterwards.”
Ms Fieldhouse donates to fundraisers for Cancer Research and Alzheimer’s charities and to keep her local church operating through Covid, according to her Facebook profile.
She was pictured as the only activist not smiling when Mr Menzies announced he was re-elected in 2019.
Using her experience as a cordon bleu chef she released an array of cookery books to raise money for her local hospice Trinity as well as supporting Flyde farmers throughout the 1980s.
Her recipes include chicken livers with mango and almonds and creamy hot crab were designed to be sourced locally.
She counts herself as one of the 20,000 members of the prestigious La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs community whose focus they say is on brotherhood, friendship, camaraderie and sharing a passion for the culinary arts.
In a statement to The Times, Mr Menzies said: “I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing I will not be commenting further.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party is investigating allegations made regarding a Member of Parliament. This process is rightfully confidential.
“The party takes all allegations seriously and will always investigate any matters put to them.”
A spokeswoman for Chief Whip Mr Hart said Mr Menzies had “agreed to relinquish the Conservative whip, pending the outcome of an investigation”, meaning he will now sit as an Independent MP.
