Grant Shapps, the former Conservative Party chairman, has resigned from his role as Minister for International Development following revelations that he was aware of bullying allegations against a party aide nearly a year before the death of a young activist.
The resignation came after Elliott Johnson's father claimed his son would still be alive if Shapps and current party chairman Andrew Feldman had acted responsibly when informed about the behaviour of Mark Clarke, who ran the party's RoadTrip initiative during the general election campaign. Johnson, 21, was found dead on railway tracks on 15 September, with a note accusing Clarke of bullying.
In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Shapps maintained his innocence but stated that 'responsibility should rest somewhere'. He admitted that while no written allegations of bullying or sexual abuse were recorded, smaller objections should have 'set alarm bells ringing'. Shapps had appointed Clarke as director of RoadTrip.
The scandal deepened after it emerged that Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi had written to Shapps in January demanding action against Clarke for abusing her on Twitter, but received no satisfactory response. Lady Warsi described Clarke as a 'disaster waiting to happen'. Additionally, it was revealed that Prime Minister David Cameron had written to Clarke thanking him for his election work.
Cameron, when asked about Shapps at a press conference in Malta, refused to offer his full support, saying instead that he felt 'deeply' for Johnson's parents and that an independent inquiry was underway. Nick Hurd has been appointed to replace Shapps at the Department for International Development.
