Bashir Khanbhai MEP deselected
The Conservative Party has deselected a sitting Member of the European Parliament from its approved list of candidates for June 10th’s election, just days after Conservative leader Michael Howard gave him his full backing.
Bashir Khanbhai, an MEP, for the Eastern Region, has been deselected in connection with a probe into travel expenses, following an internal party probe.
Mr Khanbhai has been ordered to repay the £7,000 in travelling costs, which are believed to relate to transport between Heathrow Airport and Wroxham, Norfolk. Mr Khanbhai lists a location in the village as an office, but journalists earlier this year claim to have shown that there is no office at the relevant address, and that mail sent there is forwarded on elsewhere.
The Conservative Party is refusing to comment, however, on what the travel expenses precisely relate to.
In a statement, the party declared, “In the light of new information about his travel allowance claims sent to the Conservative party by Mr Khanbhai on Monday 10 May, John Taylor, chairman of the board’s committee on candidates, will be referring a number of issues to the European parliament authorities for further investigation.”
The spokesperson added, “The money that was wrongly claimed has now been repaid and the matter is closed.”
The decision to deselect Mr Khanbhai comes after a month long investigation. The party board on committees recommended deselection in April, but the MEP appealed to the full committee on candidates.
