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A Reform UK MP has suspended himself from the occasion over allegations that he obtained £70,000 of presidency loans throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
James McMurdock eliminated the whip from himself, leaving Nigel Farage’s rightwing populist occasion with simply 4 MPs within the Home of Commons.
On Saturday the Sunday Times reported allegations that McMurdock, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock and a former banker, borrowed tens of hundreds of kilos below the federal government’s Bounce Again loans scheme in 2020 by means of two corporations he owned.
The scheme helped small- and medium-sized companies borrow from £2,000 as much as 25 per cent of their turnover. The utmost mortgage obtainable was £50,000.
JAM Monetary Restricted had no workers and negligible belongings till Covid-19 struck however the enterprise was in a position to borrow £50,000 throughout the pandemic, in keeping with claims within the Sunday Occasions.
By the principles of the scheme, the corporate would have wanted turnover of £200,000 to borrow £50,000. JAM had whole web belongings of simply £3,712 in 2020, in keeping with accounts at Firms Home.
The opposite firm was Gymnasium Reside Well being and Health Restricted, which was dormant till January 31, 2020. Even in 2021 it had net assets of solely £3,277. Over the next yr, it borrowed £20,000, in keeping with the Sunday Occasions, which might have required turnover of £80,000 below the Bounce Again scheme.
Reform chief whip Lee Anderson mentioned on Saturday that he had been contacted by McMurdock earlier than the publication of the claims.
“The allegations relate to enterprise propriety throughout the pandemic and earlier than he grew to become an MP,” Anderson mentioned.
“At Reform UK we take these issues very significantly and James has agreed to co-operate in full with any investigation. We won’t be commenting additional at this second.”
The Sunday Occasions mentioned that it had requested McMurdock for remark, at which level he warned the reporter to be “be very, very cautious”. He added that “a technical knowledgeable” could be wanted to clarify the matter. McMurdock repeatedly refused to disclose why he took out the loans, the Sunday Occasions reported.
McMurdock beforehand labored at Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Commonplace Chartered Financial institution, in keeping with a Daily Telegraph article revealed final yr. He determined to run for Parliament in Might 2024.
In November it emerged that McMurdock had been jailed for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend in 2006.
The MP claimed he had “pushed” his accomplice when particulars of his conviction have been revealed in July. However courtroom data from his sentencing obtained by The Occasions confirmed he was detained in a younger offenders’ establishment for 21 days for kicking the sufferer about 4 instances.
Reform, which is main within the polls, gained 5 seats in final yr’s basic election however one in all its MPs, Rupert Lowe, was pushed out of the occasion after accusing chief Nigel Farage of getting “messianic qualities” and failing to delegate. Lowe now sits in parliament as an impartial.
The occasion gained the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in Might, briefly taking its tally of MPs to again to 5 once more.
