A report by Clifford Chance into allegations of bullying in the Conservative party has found that senior party officials were unaware of bullying of junior members.
The magic circle firm was drafted in by the Conservative party last November to oversee its investigation into alleged bullying in the party.
Disputes partner Simon Davis was instructed after a previous inquiry led by barrister Edward Legard was criticised for not being independent. However it has since emerged that global head of investigations Roger Best led the investigation alongside partner Kelwin Nicholls.
The review followed the death of young party activist Elliott Johnson, who committed suicide in 2015, and claimed to have been bullied by politician Mark Clarke.
Best’s report identified 13 alleged victims of Clarke, including six accusations of “sexually inappropriate behaviour”. At the same time the report also claimed senior Tory figures, including David Cameron’s spin doctor Lynton Crosby and former co-chairs Lord Feldman and Grant Shapps, were unaware of Clarke’s alleged bullying of youth activists.
Clarke has denied the allegations against him but refused to be interviewed as part of the report.
Clifford Chance also attempted to contact Johnson’s parents to discuss evidence relating to the investigation. The report noted that Johnson’s parents refused to participate in the investigation as “it did not appear to be independent of transparent”.
Speaking to The Guardian Johnson’s father claimed the Conservative party had spent £2m on the report.
