Tory candidate Chris Davies s stands down from election after expenses conviction

Only hours after it was announced he would stand for a new seat, Chris Davies said he would no longge be contesting the Ynys Mon constituency in North Wales following critical comments in the media. Photo: PA - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

The former Tory MP who was convicted for faking expenses claims has stood down as a candidate for the party after mass criticism from other parties.

Only hours after it was announced he would stand for a new seat, Chris Davies said he would no longer be contesting the Ynys Mon constituency in North Wales “following critical comments in the media”.

Davies was fired as an MP for Brecon and Radnorshire in June this year after more than 10,000 people signed a petition triggered by his conviction for faking expenses claims.

Shortly after that he lost to the Lib Dems’ Jane Dodds in a by-election.

Having put himself forward yet again, he faced criticism from other parties when he announced he would contest the seat.

Aled ap Dafydd, the seat’s Plaid Cymru candidate, said: “By imposing a convicted former MP who was found guilty of a false expenses claim as the candidate for the island shows how little they care about Ynys Mon.

“This makes a mockery of the people of the island.”

Deputy leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Baroness Christine Humphreys, said: “By selecting Chris Davies to contest Ynys Mon, the Conservatives have demonstrated their utter contempt for the voters of Ynys Mon.

“People deserve better, better than an MP who was rejected by his constituents and has fled his former constituency to seek election somewhere else.”

On Tuesday evening the Welsh Conservatives released a statement from Davies announcing he would no longer stand.

Davies said: “Given the reaction in the media to the idea of me being a candidate, I have decided to pull out of the selection process.

“I would not want to put my wife and family through any more distress.”

Welsh Conservative Assembly Member Nick Ramsay said: “Chris Davies has done the right thing withdrawing from the election in Ynys Mon.

“As John Major once said, when the curtain falls, it’s time to leave the stage.”

Davies was convicted in March after he admitted submitting two false expenses invoices for nine photographs costing £700 to decorate his new office, the PA reports.

He was fined £1,500, ordered to pay £2,500 towards legal costs and told to carry out 50 hours of community service.