Reform MP suspends himself from party over Covid loans allegations

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A Reform UK MP has suspended himself from the party over allegations that he received £70,000 of government loans during the coronavirus pandemic. 

James McMurdock removed the whip from himself, leaving Nigel Farage’s rightwing populist party with just four MPs in the House of Commons. 

On Saturday the Sunday Times reported allegations that McMurdock, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock and a former banker, borrowed tens of thousands of pounds under the government’s Bounce Back loans scheme in 2020 through two companies he owned. 

The scheme helped small- and medium-sized businesses borrow from £2,000 up to 25 per cent of their turnover. The maximum loan available was £50,000.

JAM Financial Limited had no employees and negligible assets until Covid-19 struck but the business was able to borrow £50,000 during the pandemic, according to claims in the Sunday Times.

By the rules of the scheme, the company would have needed turnover of £200,000 to borrow £50,000. JAM had total net assets of just £3,712 in 2020, according to accounts at Companies House.

The other company was Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, which was dormant until January 31, 2020. Even in 2021 it had net assets of only £3,277. Over the following year, it borrowed £20,000, according to the Sunday Times, which would have required turnover of £80,000 under the Bounce Back scheme.

Reform chief whip Lee Anderson said on Saturday that he had been contacted by McMurdock before the publication of the claims.

“The allegations relate to business propriety during the pandemic and before he became an MP,” Anderson said. 

“At Reform UK we take these matters very seriously and James has agreed to co-operate in full with any investigation. We will not be commenting further at this moment.”

The Sunday Times said that it had asked McMurdock for comment, at which point he warned the reporter to be “be very, very careful”. He added that “a technical expert” would be needed to explain the matter. McMurdock repeatedly refused to reveal why he took out the loans, the Sunday Times reported.

McMurdock previously worked at Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered Bank, according to a Daily Telegraph article published last year. He decided to run for Parliament in May 2024.

In November it emerged that McMurdock had been jailed for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend in 2006. 

The MP claimed he had “pushed” his partner when details of his conviction were revealed in July. But court records from his sentencing obtained by The Times showed he was detained in a young offenders’ institution for 21 days for kicking the victim about four times.

Reform, which is leading in the polls, won five seats in last year’s general election but one of its MPs, Rupert Lowe, was pushed out of the party after accusing leader Nigel Farage of having “messianic qualities” and failing to delegate. Lowe now sits in parliament as an independent.

The party won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in May, briefly taking its tally of MPs to back to five again.