Jul 5, 12:27 PM

Reform’s McMurdock and Tory MP Freeman Face Parallel Ethics Probes

Reform UK legislator James McMurdock has relinquished the party whip and will sit as an independent while an internal investigation examines allegations that he improperly obtained about £70,000 in government-backed Bounce Back loans during the pandemic. A Sunday Times inquiry found the MP borrowed £50,000 through JAM Financial Ltd and £20,000 via Gym Live Health & Fitness Ltd—two companies with little recorded activity—and failed to file statutory accounts or list one directorship in Parliament. Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson said the party "takes these matters very seriously" and that McMurdock has agreed to cooperate fully. The move comes days after Conservative backbencher George Freeman was suspended from his unpaid role as UK trade envoy to Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei. Freeman referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards after leaked e-mails suggested GHGSat, a Canadian emissions-monitoring firm that paid him about £5,000 a month for advisory work, helped draft parliamentary questions he later submitted to ministers. Freeman says he has “done nothing wrong” and will abide by the watchdog’s ruling; opposition parties have called on the Conservatives to withdraw the whip while the probe is under way. The separate investigations deepen scrutiny of Westminster’s ethics regime following a series of lobbying and finance controversies. Both MPs deny wrongdoing, but their suspensions leave Reform UK with only four sitting MPs and add to pressure on Prime Minister Kemi Badenoch to tighten parliamentary standards ahead of the next general election.

Written with ChatGPT .

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Reform’s McMurdock and Tory MP Freeman Face Parallel Ethics Probes

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