Tory turmoil following bullying allegations

The Conservative party is struggling with the fallout from allegations about bullying by one of its youth activists.

Minister Grant Shapps resigned at the weekend, and there is now growing pressure on party chairman Lord Feldman to do the same.

Mark Clarke - who denies having done anything wrong - has been accused of a campaign of bullying and intimidation that culminated in the suicide of 21-year-old youth activist Elliott Johnson in September.

Johnson named Clarke in a letter found by his parents after his death. But he had previously complained to Conservative Central Office about Clarke's actions - and, now, Feldman is under fire for the way he investigated the allegations.

Grant Shapps, who was co-chairman of the party until May this year, resigned as a minister on Saturday over the scandal. He had been responsible for bringing Clarke on board to run the RoadTrip2015 campaign, which saw young activists bused round the country in the run-up to the election.

%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-your-rights%Clarke faces a shocking list of allegations - but not all that unusual, according to conciliation service Acas, which says it received about 20,000 calls about harassment and bullying at work last year.

"Our analysis reveals that bullying is on the rise in Britain and it is more likely to be found in organisations that have poor workplace climates where this type of behaviour can become institutionalised," says chairman Sir Brendan Barber.

"Callers to our helpline have experienced some horrific incidents around bullying that have included humiliation, ostracism, verbal and physical abuse."

If you believe that you're being bullied at work, the first step is to speak to HR - and your union rep, if you have one. Keep a diary of all incidents, along with any relevant letters or emails.

If this doesn't get you anywhere, you can take legal action at an employment tribunal. There's more information from Citizens Advice here.