A senior Conservative MP has been asked to leave the party’s conference after police were called to an incident in which he allegedly behaved in a “totally unacceptable” fashion.
Officers were asked to attend the international lounge at the conference in Manchester at Tuesday lunchtime after reports of an incident involvingGeoffrey Clifton-Brown, a party spokesman confirmed. The 66-year-old backbencher, who represents the Cotswolds, was knighted in 2018.
Police said the MP attempted to bring someone into the lounge who did not have a relevant pass and was understood to have then remonstrated with a member of staff. Security then intervened.
A party spokesman said: “The incident was totally unacceptable. Geoffrey has been asked to leave conference and we are establishing all of the facts to see if further action is necessary. We will always adopt a zero tolerance approach to any inappropriate behaviour towards our hardworking staff.”
Clifton-Brown did not deny the reports, and told PA Media: “I’ve got nothing further to say about it. I don’t want to comment on it, really.”
PA Media reported that a staff member guarding the door of the lounge, which is for international visitors to the event, said the incident was sparked by a disagreement. “It was a small misunderstanding,” the man said.
Paramedics were in attendance and security staff shut down entrances and exits into the media lounge and covered the glass window leading into the lounge for about 30 minutes.
In a statement, Greater Manchester police said: “At around 1.45pm on Tuesday 1 October 2019, an attendee to the Conservative party conference attempted to enter the international lounge area of the conference without the relevant pass.
“Security staff intervened and resolved the situation without any breach of security occurring.”
