LONDON

Conor Burns, an MP and trade minister in the British government, was suspended on Friday from the ruling Conservative Party by Prime Minister Liz Truss after a complaint of “serious misconduct.”

A spokesman for No 10 said: "Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the prime minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect.

"The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour – as the public rightly expects."

A spokesman for the Conservatives' whips office said: "We have suspended the whip pending investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior earlier this week.

"We take all such allegations extremely seriously. The prime minister has been clear that the highest standards in public life must be upheld."

This means that Burns will sit as an independent MP while the complaint is investigated.

He told the Sun newspaper that he will "fully cooperate with the investigation and looks forward to clearing his name.”

Burns, the MP for Bournemouth West, previously resigned as a trade minister in 2020 after a parliamentary watchdog found that he used his position to “intimidate a member of the public.”

The latest suspension comes shortly after the end of the four-day Conservative Party conference that ended on Wednesday.