Tory MP quits after 'escort claims'

Mark Menzies has quit his post as an aide after allegations in a Sunday newspaper

1 April 2014

A Tory MP has resigned as a ministerial aide following allegations reportedly made by a Brazilian male escort.

Mark Menzies quit as a parliamentary private secretary to International Development Minister Alan Duncan following a Sunday Mirror investigation into his personal life.

In a statement the Fylde MP said: "I have decided to resign as a PPS after a series of allegations were made against me in a Sunday newspaper.

"A number of these allegations are not true and I look forward to setting the record straight in due course."

Fylde Conservative Association chair man Councillor Brenda Ackers said: "Mark has the full support of his constituency party."

Mr Menzies was elected in 2010 and was swiftly promoted to be a ministerial aide, serving former energy minister Charles Hendry and former housing minister Mark Prisk before his role with Mr Duncan.

He grew up in Ardrossan, Ayrshire, and was raised by his mother after his father died a month before he was born.

Mr Menzies, 42, studied economics and social history at Glasgow University before embarking on a career in retail, starting out at Marks & Spencer as a graduate trainee.