Former Tory MP expelled by party after complaints
Tom Hunt, who was MP for Ipswich from 2019 to 2024, lost his seat to Labour's Jack Abbott by a margin of 7,403 votes at the last election.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: 'Tom Hunt has been expelled from the Conservative Party following a complaints process. This process is rightly confidential.'
The Telegraph understands that there was a 'substantial' amount of evidence of wrongdoing, hence the severity of the sanction carried out by a disciplinary panel.
Mr Hunt, 37, faced accusations in 2020 of fuelling racism after claiming that a 'disproportionate number' of offences in Ipswich, the town for which he was the MP, were committed by 'individuals from certain communities'.
At the time campaigners for a local racial equality group accused him of 'an ill judged piece of dogwhistling'. Mr Hunt stood by his comments.
'Deeply disappointed'
Tom Hunt told The Telegraph: 'I am deeply disappointed by this provisional decision. I have strongly refuted the complaint from the start and continue to do so. I am currently seeking legal advice so it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage. It's a confidential process.'
Writing in the East Anglian Daily Times in 2020, he said: 'It is impossible to start thinking about remedies to these issues without also being ready to confront the possibility that a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by individuals from certain communities. This is something we should be open and honest about. Brushing it under the carpet will not get us closer to solving the issue.
'Unfortunately, calling things how they are has not been a quality which we have come to expect from many in positions of responsibility on these matters. People who should know better are too quick to spout to politically correct mantras and too slow to call out problems in certain communities, hindering our ability to get to the bottom of the issue and leaving many residents and victims feeling like they don't have a voice.'
The former MP will be able to appeal his expulsion, directly to the Conservative Party.
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