Cotswolds Tory chief is forced out by 'bullies' as she pushes for probe into 'venal behaviour'

Mayorkas impeachment DELAYED: Speaker Mike Johnson pushes back sending articles to the Senate after Republicans whined a failed vote would ruin their 'news cycle'
Jay Leno is granted conservatorship of his dementia-stricken wife Mavis as judge tells the emotional TV legend 'everything you're doing is right'
'He looks like he could take me': Biden tells heckler to 'shush up' - but backs off when he sees him - in speech where he threatens to 'expire' Republicans who don't back his healthcare plans
'Distraught' Wynonna Judd 'blames herself' for daughter Grace Pauline Kelly's 'misfortunes' and feels 'powerless' to help her - but is 'ready to care' for 27-year-old's baby in the wake of her indecent exposure arrest as she remains in jail on $1K bond
Michigan school shooter's father sobs as he's handed 10-15 year sentence - while his love rat wife glares at him - in first-of-its-kind sentencing: Victims' families console each other and blame pair for the four-student massacre
Panera Bread is undergoing a massive menu overhaul with 48 items being removed - is your favorite dish a goner?
Tats huge! Hunter shows off his striking back ink while frolicking on the beach with four-year-old son Beau - as the surprising meaning behind it is revealed
Grease 2 star Maxwell Caulfield, 64, insists his wife of 44 years Juliet Mills, 84, keeps him young despite being nearly two decades older
Joni Mitchell performs cover of honoree Elton John's 1983 hit I'm Still Standing at Gershwin Prize ceremony in Washington D.C.
Huge Downton Abbey star 'MISSING from third and final film' as period drama undergoes cast shake-up
Is there anything Ozempic can't do? Now weight-loss drug is linked to lower chance of MS and could help sleep apnea - despite 100 deaths linked to the injections
Ruff going! United Airlines flight is forced to divert after a dog POOPED in the First Class aisle - as a passenger shares horrifying images of the 'mess' that left travelers 'ill' and took TWO HOURS to clean
Scientists reveal the surest way to stop feeling angry in stressful situations
How fit are YOU for your age? Experts say how you perform in four simple exercises is the ultimate indicator...so where do you score?
Harvard professor claims UFOs could have come to Earth via 'extra dimensions' that scientists are trying to unlock
Giant GLOBSTER washes up on beach: Disgusting mass of flesh horrifies locals after emerging from the sea in Malaysia
What you can and CAN'T eat amid America's bird flu outbreak, according to ex-FDA food chief: Avoid steak houses, salad dressing and even your favorite desserts!
Coast Guard calls off search for American man, 20, who 'jumped off Royal Caribbean Liberty Of The Seas cruise ship during drunken argument with his dad' off the coast of the Bahamas
Arizona Supreme Court rules 1864 law can be used to ban nearly ALL abortions: Biden blasts 'cruel' decision that gives state one of the strictest guidelines in the country
Woman is reunited with her family FIFTY TWO years after being snatched from the Colombia streets at four years old
Shocking moment thief attacks woman, 68, on her way into NYC church before stealing her purse and car
'Flirtatious' prison librarian accused of groping inmates had her underwear paraded around wing 'like a trophy' by convict she had sexual relationship with, court hears
Popular hand sanitizer and aloe brands recalled over common ingredient that FDA warns could cause comas and blindness
Florida woman gets a MONTH in prison for stealing Ashley Biden's diary and selling it for $40,000 before the 2020 election

Diana MacKenzie-Charrington forced to quit role due to 'outfight bullying'
She was chairman of the Cotswolds Conservative Association in Wiltshire
Leaked letter sent to more than 1,200 members says she will report behaviour
She claimed the ‘senior long-standing minority’ were guilty of ‘venal behaviours'

Published: 20:41 EDT, 20 January 2022 | Updated: 20:50 EDT, 20 January 2022

e-mail

The woman chairman of a Tory constituency association has been forced to quit after ‘outright bullying’ by senior figures, a leaked letter revealed yesterday.

Diana MacKenzie-Charrington also claimed the ‘tiny but very senior long-standing minority’ were guilty of ‘venal behaviours’.

In the letter sent to more than 1,200 members of the Cotswolds Conservative Association, she said she would report ‘these behaviours’ to the party’s headquarters because they were ‘sufficiently serious to warrant investigation’.

The Cotswolds constituency is a safe Tory seat, currently occupied by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

He has held the seat 2010 and has been an MP in the area since 1992.

Mrs MacKenzie-Charrington, 72, said in her letter: ‘Many of you witnessed for yourselves at the recent annual general meeting the level of toxicity and unpleasantness that has so sadly now permeated our association.

'It is my very firm opinion that this toxicity, which has on occasion amounted to outright bullying of me and others, has no place in this or any political party.

‘However, it is also the case that I cannot in good conscience continue to serve in an organisation which has been infected at the very top with such venal behaviours.’

Mrs MacKenzie-Charrington is a former fashion consultant and a company director.

The Cotswolds constituency is a safe Tory seat, currently occupied by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (pictured)

She quit on October 28 last year but her letter was leaked online yesterday – as the parliamentary party was rocked by allegations of blackmail threats against those MPs who have called for the Prime Minister’s resignation over parties at No 10.

The former chairman declined to say more on the content of her letter yesterday, but said the allegations had ‘nothing to do’ with issues now facing Boris Johnson.

Neither the constituency association or Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown responded to requests for a comment.

Conservatives