The 78-year-woman allegedly awoken at 3.15am by Mr Menzies demanding money because he had been locked up by ‘bad people’ is today revealed to be Katie Fieldhouse, a former Lady Mayoress of his Fylde constituency.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the extraordinary saga today, Mr Menzies’ former campaign manager and life-long Tory activist told she had been ‘deeply distressed’ by what had happened.
She said that as ‘a devout Christian and a very devout Conservative’ she was ‘very sad’ that Mr Menzies had allegedly put himself in that position.
Ms Fieldhouse confirmed that she had given a full account of that night to Chief Whip Simon Hart back in January, and said she felt let down that no action had been taken against him until the allegations were made public yesterday.
Speaking at her neat bungalow in Lytham St Annes, the respected local figure said Conservative voters in the upmarket seaside resort ‘deserve better’ from the party.
The 78-year-woman allegedly awoken at 3.15am by Mr Menzies demanding money because he had been locked up by ‘bad people’ is today revealed to be Katie Fieldhouse (pictured)
MP Mark Menzies (pictured) had the Tory whip suspended yesterday after the allegations surfaced
The 78-year-old confirmed she was awoken last December by an ‘angry’ Mr Menzies demanding thousands of pounds from local campaign funds in order for the ‘bad people’ holding him hostage to release him, saying it was ‘a matter of life and death’.
Ms Fieldhouse said she ‘didn’t dispute’ anything which had been reported about the saga by The Times.
‘My main concern in all this is for the people of Fylde,’ she said. ‘It’s very, very sad.
‘I don’t know what’s going to happen now.
‘I’m a Christian woman with morals and principles and I think that says everything.
‘I was the one that reported his behaviour – I gave a full account to the Chief Whip when I reported it, that was on January 3.
‘I didn’t make a complaint, I reported my concerns.’
Asked if she was ‘dubious’ about Grant Shapps’ claim on the Today programme this morning that Mr Menzies had the whip suspended yesterday because ‘further information’ came to light, and not necessarily because the allegations became public, Ms Fieldhouse said: ‘You’ve come to the same conclusion as me.’
Questioned on whether the Conservative Party had treated her allegations sufficiently seriously up until yesterday, she replied: ‘It was three and a half months ago – you can draw your own conclusions.’
Ms Fieldhouse said she had been contacted by party officials about what happened ‘a couple of times’ since January but had not had any formal contact from the Conservatives.
‘I’m a devout Christian and a very devout Conservative and this has distressed me deeply,’ she said.
A spokesperson for Chief Whip Simon Hart (pictured) said Mr Menzies has agreed to give up the Tory whip pending an investigation
‘I live in a beautiful place and it deserves better.
‘My concern in all of this is this constituency.
‘I said my piece in January and what’s happened since is nothing to do with me.’
Asked if she thought there should now be a police investigation into her allegations, Ms Fieldhouse said she did not want to have ‘any further involvement’ in the ‘distressing’ affair.
In a statement to The Times, 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.’
Mark Menzies pictured with Micky and Minnie Mouse at the St Anne’s Carnival in his local Lancashire constituency last year
Shirley Green (left) bailed out Mark Menzies (centre). They are pictured with councillor Karen Harrison at St Annes Charity Carnival in July last year
It comes after revealed the woman who bailed out Mr Menzies with £5,500 from her personal bank account after he had desperately called Ms Fieldhouse.
Shirley Green is a Conservative Mayoress in Menzies’ Lancashire constituency who apparently found herself awoken early the following morning by Ms Fieldhouse who was concerned after her early hours call from Mr Menzies.
Ms Fieldhouse was calling Mrs Green because she herself had just been rung hours earlier by their local MP apparently in great distress about what might happen to him if he didn’t come up with the money immediately.
Mrs Green, 57, the MP’s office manager, then paid out £6,500 from her personal savings to ‘bad men’ said to be holding Mr Menzies hostage, and was apparently later reimbursed from Conservative Party funds raised from donors.
Mrs Green, who is currently Mayor of genteel St Anne’s on the Sea, down the coast from Blackpool, and her term will come to an end next month.
She has served on the Town Council since 2019 and has taken a full role in local civic life, and is a governor of a local primary school and trustee of a Boys and Girls club.
Recently, she was photographed with Mr Menzies at the St Anne’s Carnival, alongside her neighbour Mayor of Fylde Borough Council and volunteers dressed up as Disney characters.
The local newspaper wryly captioned it a ‘magical moment as Mark met Micky, Minnie and the Mayors.’
The scandal is now being investigated by Conservative Party bosses, along with some £14,000 given by donors for Tory campaign activities which was previously transferred to Mr Menzies’s personal bank account and used for his private medical expenses, according to The Times.
Tory party chiefs are said to have been aware of the allegations of potential fraud for more than three months.
The shamed MP was also previously accused of paying for sex from a male escort in 2014, getting a friend’s dog drunk in 2017, and drunkenly ‘kicking chairs and poking people’ at a Last Night of the Proms concert as recently as last August.
The MP, who was born in Ayrshire, was raised by his mother after his Merchant Navy father died a month before he was born.
Mr Menzies was first elected as MP for Fylde at the 2010 general election
He studied economic and social history at the University of Glasgow and worked for Marks & Spencer and Asda before moving into politics.
Mr Menzies was first elected as MP for Fylde in 2010 when David Cameron was prime minister.
He quickly took up a position as parliamentary private secretary but his political career was left in tatters when he became embroiled in a sex-for-money scandal.
A 19-year-old Brazilian man called Rogerio dos Santos Pinto told The Sunday Mirror that the MP had paid him for sex and asked him to buy an illegal drug.
He said they met on a gay escort website and claimed the politician had given him a tour of the Houses of Parliament before allegedly offering to pay him £250 for a two-hour session.
Mr Menzies, then 42, resigned as a ministerial aide and said some of the allegations were untrue and claimed he would be ‘setting the record straight in due course’. He has not held a ministerial role since, however.
Three years later, the shamed MP was quizzed by cops after being accused of deliberately getting a friend’s dog drunk and then starting a fight with them when challenged.
It was reported at the time that the dog needed emergency treatment for ‘intoxication’ and ‘poisoning’. The dog owner claimed to have spent some £500 on vets’ bills, The Mirror reported.
Mr Menzies said the allegations were ‘false and malicious’ at the time and police ultimately dismissed the claims. And a source later denied Mr Menzies’ involvement, claiming the dog drunk alcohol that had been left on the grass when the friend fell asleep.
More recently, Mr Menzies is said to have caused a drunken scene at a Last Night of the Proms concert featuring Katherine Jenkins at Lytham Hall last August.
The MP, who was invited by the local mayor, is said to have arrived intoxicated before getting into a row with other guests after finding out his seats had not been reserved in the VIP section.
One patron claimed the MP ‘started kicking the chairs and poking the people on the front row’ at the £150-a-ticket event, the Times reports.
Mr Menzies allegedly had to be spoken to by security because he was so heavily intoxicated. A source close to the MP admitted he had too much to drink but did not intentionally poke anyone.
It comes just weeks before the local elections and it remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could face another by-election headache.