Latest news with #independentMP
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Accountability, robodebt and regional housing: Helen Haines unpacks it all
Tom McIlroy speaks to independent MP Helen Haines to talk through her ambitious agenda for the new parliamentary term, her sharp disappointment with the robodebt royal commission fallout, and what the government's response says about political accountability
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Suspended Reform MP James McMurdock quits party after Covid loan questions
James McMurdock has said he will not return to Reform UK after resigning the whip over questions related to Covid loans, becoming the second MP to leave the party since the general election last year. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock 'removed the party whip from himself' last week, pending the outcome of an investigation relating to allegations around 'business propriety during the pandemic'. It comes after a Sunday Times investigation alleged two businesses connected to Mr McMurdock took out Covid -19 loans totalling £70,000 during the pandemic, one of which had no employees. On Tuesday, the MP said he 'had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' since the loans came to light. Writing on social media site X, he added: 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100 per cent on the interests of my constituents.' Mr McMurdock is the second Reform MP to leave the party following the departure of Rupert Lowe earlier this year, who now also sits as an independent. Mr Lowe was expelled from Reform in March amid allegations of bullying, which he has strongly denied. According to Companies House, Mr McMurdock is listed as the current director of Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, and a former director of J A M Financial Limited, a position he resigned in 2021. Both firms are shown to have overdue accounts and confirmation statements, and both have an 'active proposal to strike off'. Over the weekend, Mr McMurdock insisted that 'all my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same'. He said he had asked for the Reform whip to be suspended temporarily as a 'precautionary measure'. Speaking to Reform councillors on Monday morning, Nigel Farage said 'how we behave matters', adding that he 'can't apologise' for the 2024 election vetting process because he was not involved in it. 'I came in, I inherited this situation where hundreds of candidates who stood in the last general election had not gone through a vetting process', he said, seeking to distance himself from the process. 'I said on July 5, the day after the election last year, that we would now professionalise. 'We put 1,630 candidates into the field on May 1, more than any other party with very, very few rows or arguments – so the vetting process worked for this year, I can't apologise for what happened before.' The Reform leader did not answer when asked whether the allegations faced by Mr McMurdock were an embarrassment for his party. 'Let's find out the truth, I know as much about this right now as you do,' said Mr Farage. Addressing Reform UK Kent County Council councillors on the steps inside County Hall, he said: 'Behaving with integrity is a responsibility upon all of you, although that doesn't mean you all have to become stuffed shirts or anything like that. 'You are holders of public office you are responsible and how we behave matters.'
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
MP James McMurdock quits Reform PERMANENTLY after taking 'specialist legal advice' ahead of probe into Covid business loans worth £70,000
Former Reform MP James McMurdock said he was quitting the party for good today as he faces an investigation over Covid loans he took out during the pandemic. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock resigned the whip on Saturday, shortly before The Sunday Times published a story about loans worth £70,000 given to two businesses - one of which had no staff. He said at the time the decision to sit as an independent was temporary, pending the outcome of a Commons investigation. But this afternoon he took to X to say that after taking 'specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' he would not be seeking to rejoin. He added: 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100 per cent on the interests of my constituents.' It means that Nigel Farage 's party, which won five seats at the general election, now has just four MP, having lost two and gained one in the tumultuous year since. Mr McMurdock and Rupert Lowe have left to become independents, while Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election earlier this year. But this afternoon he took to X to say that after taking 'specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' he would not be seeking to rejoin. McMurdock, 39, who was previously jailed for attacking an ex-girlfriend, was accused by the Sunday Times of taking out the maximum loan of £50,000 for his firm JAM Financial Limited, which had no employees and almost no assets until the pandemic. In order to qualify for a £50,000 loan from the government, companies had to have a turnover of more than £200,000. Documents on Companies House showed how the firm's 'current assets' jumped from just £125 in 2019 to £50,137 in 2020, the year of the loan. After receiving the money, McMurdock allegedly then resigned from the company and gave his shares to his mother. A second company, Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, was a dormant company until the end of January in 2020 yet borrowed £20,000 during the pandemic, for which it would have had to have a turnover of £100,000. Neither company has filed accounts or annual corporate filings since the loans. Both companies were set to be struck from the register, meaning they would cease to exist - but this was paused by a complaint from a third party, thought to be in relation to the outstanding loans. McMurdock has also been accused by the paper of breaching parliamentary rules by failing to declare that he is a director of the Gym business on his register of interests. Mr McMurdock insisted when the Sunday Times news story broke that 'all my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same'. He said he had asked for the Reform whip to be suspended temporarily as a 'precautionary measure'.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
James McMurdock says he will not return to Reform UK after Covid loan questions
MP James McMurdock will not return to Reform UK after resigning the party whip over questions related to Covid loans, he has said. The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock 'removed the party whip from himself' last week pending the outcome of an investigation relating to allegations around 'business propriety during the pandemic'. The Sunday Times published a story on Saturday which alleged two businesses connected to Mr McMurdock took out Covid-19 loans totalling £70,000 during the pandemic, one of which had no employees. On Tuesday, the MP said he 'had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field' since the loans came to light. Writing on social media site X, he added: 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100% on the interests of my constituents.' According to Companies House, Mr McMurdock is listed as the current director of Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, and a former director of J A M Financial Limited, a position he resigned in 2021. Both firms are shown to have overdue accounts and confirmation statements, and both have an 'active proposal to strike off'. Mr McMurdock insisted when the Sunday Times news story broke that 'all my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same'. He said he had asked for the Reform whip to be suspended temporarily as a 'precautionary measure'.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
James McMurdock will not seek Reform UK return after Covid loan questions
The former Reform MP James McMurdock has suggested he will permanently quit the party after receiving legal advice about his business conduct related to Covid loans. McMurdock, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, surrendered the party whip last week in anticipation of revelations in the Sunday Times, which claimed there were questions over loans totalling tens of thousands of pounds. On Tuesday, McMurdock said he had decided to remain as an independent MP rather than seek to return to Reform UK. 'I have now had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field,' he posted on X. 'In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100% on the interests of my constituents.' McMurdock had originally said he had asked for the whip to be suspended as a 'precautionary measure' and 'for the protection of Reform UK'. The Sunday Times reported that McMurdock took out £70,000 in loans in 2020, which it said were from the government's bounce back scheme. It said he borrowed £50,000 for one business, JAM Financial Ltd, which had no employees and negligible assets until the Covid pandemic. For a firm to have been eligible for the loan, it would have needed to report a turnover of at least £200,000. McMurdock is said to have resigned as a director of the company in 2021 and transferred his shares. Another company McMurdock owned, Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, is said to have borrowed £20,000. It would have required a turnover of £100,000 under the bounce back scheme. It too had no employees, according to the latest registered accounts available on Companies House, and had nominal assets until the Covid pandemic. The companies were due to be struck off the register at Companies House, but on the same day in February 2023 the process of suspending both companies was halted after the regulator had an objection from a third party. McMurdock said he had told the Sunday Times: 'All my business dealings had always been conducted fully within the law and in compliance with all regulations, and that appropriately qualified professionals had reviewed all activity confirming the same.' McMurdock's resignation will make him the second MP out of the five elected for Reform in September to quit the party, after the Great Yarmouth MP, Rupert Lowe. Since Lowe quit, the party had returned to five MPs with Sarah Pochin elected in a byelection, but it has now returned to four. Reform UK has been approached for comment.
