Reform MP James McMurdock loses whip over business allegations, party says

Reform MP James McMurdock has misplaced the whip over allegations towards him associated to enterprise propriety, the get together says.Chief whip Lee Anderson stated McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, “eliminated the get together whip from himself” pending an investigation into allegations since revealed by the Sunday Instances.”At Reform UK we take these issues very significantly and James has agreed to cooperate in full with any investigation,” Anderson stated.The get together won’t be commenting additional, he added.The BBC has approached McMurdock for remark.Anderson stated the allegations relate to enterprise propriety in the course of the pandemic, earlier than McMurdock grew to become an MP final yr.He gained the seat by 98 votes, beating Labour into second place, and taking the seat from the Conservatives.McMurdock is the second of the 5 Reform MPs elected in 2024 who’ve since misplaced the get together whip, after Rupert Lowe was suspended in March.That got here after the get together alleged the Nice Yarmouth MP had made “threats of bodily violence” towards then-chairman Zia Yusuf.The Crown Prosecution Service later stated Lowe wouldn’t face prison prices over the claims, which he referred to as “false” and a “brutal smear marketing campaign”. He now sits within the Commons as an impartial. Reform’s Sarah Ponchin gained the Runcorn by-election in Could, taking the get together’s Commons cohort again to 5.Nevertheless, McMurdock quitting the get together whip means Reform now has 4 sitting MPs.