Convicted Tory MP Chris Davies ousted after recall petition

Conservative MP Chris Davies has lost his seat in the House of Commons after 19% of registered voters in his constituency signed a petition to remove him.

Mr Davies, 51, was convicted for faking expenses claims after submitting two false expenses invoices for landscape photographs to decorate his new office.

Some 10,005 people signed the petition, well above the 10% threshold – 5,303 people – needed for a recall.

The result, confirmed by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, means a by-election will be called for the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency which Mr Davies could stand in.

He has been MP for Brecon and Radnorshire since the 2015 general election, where he beat incumbent Liberal Democrat Roger Williams with the constituency’s largest majority since 1983.

In 2017, he held a majority of more than 8,000 in a constituency where just over 41,000 people voted.

But in April he was fined £1,500, ordered to pay £2,500 towards legal costs and told to carry out 50 hours of community service after admitting submitting two false expenses invoices.

The recall petition opened on May 9 and Mr Davies’s constituents had six weeks to sign it before it closed at 5pm on June 20.

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