Totnes MP 'will stand down'

VETERAN Tory MP for Totnes Anthony Steen is to step down amid the outcry over expense claims at his South Hams home. The announcement that he will not contest his seat at the next General Election came last night just hours after he insisted he had no plans to quit. In a statement issued on Wednesday evening Mr Steen said: "The real issue today is who can fix the country. The real debate - the real choice - is Brown or Cameron. The real focus for all Conservatives should be on winning the next election. “For that reason, and because I don’t want to distract from the real story here, I have decided not to stand at the next election. “I would like to thank all my constituents for their support. I have really enjoyed working for you. I hope also to continue my work in the fight against human trafficking."

Mr Steen had earlier told the Herald Express he was adamant that he had no immediate plans to stand down at the next election, despite reports to the contrary.

Mr Steen will answer questions over his expenses claims when he faces his Tory association on Friday.

The veteran MP, who claimed more than £80,000 over fours years for work at his £1 million Devon mansion, will have to explain himself to a dozen Conservative branch chairmen who make up the executive.

Last night, ConservativeHome, an influential grassroots Tory discussion website, reported “serious concerns from within the Totnes Association regarding the behaviour of Anthony Steen MP”. It said “members are ‘unhappy’… and moving towards deselection”.

“We will have the opportunity to talk about the current situation and make our views known,” he said.

Mr Hicks told the Herald Express that the Totnes meeting had been specially called and Mr Steen had agreed to attend voluntarily.

He added: “It is about politicians in general rather than individuals. I think that most people are completely disillusioned about the way MPs are paid.

“The general public, and me included, believe that this is a moral issue. I feel let down by the system. I don’t feel let down by Anthony Steen. We have had expressions of support for Mr Steen as well as some other comments which are less favourable.”

He said the executive would meet at around 6.30pm at the Totnes Conservative HQ at the town’s Conservative Club and discuss the situation without Mr Steen present. Mr Steen is then expected to be invited to attend at around 8pm.

Mr Steen, who rents a flat in London, designated his South Hams property as his second home and then claimed £87,000 for work including guarding shrubs from rabbits, inspecting trees, redecorating, moving boulders, fencing off fields, overhauling a private sewage system and sowing grass seed.

The executive is made up of 14 chairman of constituency Conservative branches from Brixham to Salcombe.

On Monday Tory leader David Cameron told party associations: “If you think your MP is not right to stand, there’s a simple process for triggering his or her re-selection.” He said he expected some members of his party to be “punished by their voters for the way they have behaved”.