Two senior figures at a Conservative thinktank linked to an alleged bullying scandal in the Tory party have both stepped down from the organisation, the Guardian has learned.
Donal Blaney and Paul Abbott have left their positions as respective chair and chief executive at Conservative Way Forward (CWF), where young activist Elliott Johnson worked before he is believed to have killed himself.
Johnson, 21, had been recently made redundant at CWF when he was found dead on railway tracks on 15 September after leaving a note accusing election aide Mark Clarke and others of bullying him. Clarke has denied all allegations against him.
Blaney, a lawyer, and Abbott, the former chief of staff to Tory MP Grant Shapps, have become tangled up in the bullying scandal triggered by Johnson’s death. Both of their names have been removed from the CWF website.
A source close to CWF told the Guardian: “My understanding is they’re stepping down from those roles. I think a lot of the pressure that’s been created with what happened to Elliott has put quite a bit of strain on both of them. They’ve both got private lives and family being caught up in the pressure of this.”
Sir Gerald Howarth MP is now listed as chairman on the CWF website, while Chrissie Boyle is listed as executive director.
Abbott and Blaney have been approached by the Guardian for comment.
Abbott effectively appointed Clarke on Shapps’s behalf as director of election campaign RoadTrip2015, during which Clarke allegedly intimidated, groped and attempted to blackmail activists and MPs. Shapps resigned from a junior ministerial position over his handling of the allegations against Clarke.
It was to Blaney and Abbott that Johnson first raised concerns over Clarke. The complaint was then subsequently raised with Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ).
The day after Johnson was found dead, Abbott received a memory stick in the post, sent by Johnson, containing a secret recording he had made of a meeting with Clarke and a friend Andre Walker on 2 September. The two older men can be heard pressuring Johnson to withdraw a formal complaint he had made to Conservative party headquarters. Abbott forwarded the recording to police and Johnson’s father.
Commenting on the changes at CWF, Ray Johnson, Elliott’s father, said: “I spoke with Chrissie Boyle, the new executive director of CWF, earlier ... and wish her well in her new role; and I thank Paul Abbott for his assistance in helping our family understand what happened to Elliott.
“Elliott was a fine young son and brother, we will dearly miss him this Christmas and forever.”
Blaney founded the Young Britons’ Foundation, a controversial youth group branded a “cult” by Johnson’s father and labelled a “madrasa”.
Previously addressing criticism of YBF, Blaney said: “On this, Ray is sadly wrongly informed. His own son wrote the following after our conference last December: ‘YBF is an amazing organisation. You come into the YBF family knowing no-one and having only a loose affiliation to being rightwing. You leave with lots of friends and a much clearer idea of how this country should be run.’ I couldn’t agree with Elliott more.”
Among YBF’s alumni is Clarke, who only last year was presented with YBF’s “Dolphin award” for founding RoadTrip2015. As allegations against Clarke emerged, Blaney apologised for not standing up to him sooner and expressed his grief and shock over Elliott’s death.
Johnson started working at CWF – described by David Cameron as the largest and most effective pressure group within the Conservative movement today – as political editor in June, but later took on a part-time role as social media consultant for the group after he was made redundant in August.
The Conservative party has appointed law firm Clifford Chance to run an inquiry into the allegations, but this has been rejected by Elliott’s parents.
Clarke has previously released a statement saying: “I believe that these false allegations and this media firestorm are related to the events surrounding Elliott’s sad death. As such I will be cooperating with the coroner and providing him with the fullest information. This is the proper process. After the inquest I will look to take legal action for defamation in respect of these allegations.”
