Top Tory Grant Shapps ‘targeted in vicious smear campaign’ after stopping two of Theresa May’s closest aides becoming MPs
Former party chairman, Grant Shapps, claims that months of whispers about his private life and an alleged affair resulted in journalists camping on his doorstep
A TOP Tory claims he became target of a vicious smear campaign after he stopped two of Theresa May’s closest aides becoming MPs.
Former party chairman Grant Shapps says the angry pair stormed out of a meeting vowing: “You will live to regret this decision.”
He then found himself at the centre of a wave of false and malicious rumours which began sweeping Westminster.
Mr Shapps lifted the lid on the “destructive” forces at the heart of the PM’s team as he urged her to clean up the toxic atmosphere in Number 10.
He told how he met a fearsome backlash after he blocked two senior advisers from running in safe Tory seats at the General Election.
Nick Timothy and Stephen Parkinson were suspended from the party’s approved candidates list after they refused to campaign in the 2014 Rochester by-election won by Ukip.
Mrs May, who was Home Secretary at the time, pleaded with Mr Shapps three times to overturn his decision.
He stood firm but agreed to meet them “out of courtesy.”
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the ex-minister recalls: “I was shocked by their sheer arrogance.
“At the end of the stormiest meeting I held, they informed me that ‘You will live to regret your decision, chairman.’”
Married dad-of-three Mr Shapps, 48, reveals that months of whispers about his private life resulted in journalists camping on his doorstep.
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He added: “In the lead-up to the election, I found myself fielding questions from the press about things which I had never even thought about, let alone done; like whether I’d had an affair.”
Mr Shapps hit out as Mrs May prepares to relaunch her political mission ahead of her first anniversary in Number 10 this week.
The PM has lined up a string of high-profile appearances, including a major speech setting out her commitment to building a fairer Britain and making Brexit a success.
It is a direct response to claims that her team has been on the back foot politically since her majority was slashed at the election.
Her two joint chiefs of staff – including Mr Timothy – were forced to quit after being blamed for the “catastrophic” campaign.
Cabinet ministers told her that he and colleague Fiona Hill had to go because they were “destroying our party”.
Downing Street colleagues say the pair operated from the shadows but micro-managed every movement and message made by Mrs May.
In his article, Mr Shapps says they filled the gaps for the PM’s shortcomings with “catastrophic” consequences.
And he warned Mrs May must put greater trust in her ministers and share power beyond a tiny inner circle if she is to survive.
He said: “She must throw open Downing Street to welcome innovative ideas, listen attentively to business and make better use of the party’s broad talent in Parliament and further afield.”
Mr Timothy and Mr Parkinson were unavailable for comment last night.
But a close pal disputed Mrs Shapps’s recollection of their meeting.
