Conservative officials are to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death a 21-year-old activist who claimed she had suffered bullying and abuse from within the party.
Jade Smith, from Redcar in North Yorkshire, was found dead at nearby Saltburn on Sunday. Police have said her death is not being treated as suspicious and her boyfriend of three years, Chris Cassidy, has told the Daily Mirror he believes she took her own life.
Smith was a Conservative campaigner and last year featured on The Mighty Redcar, a BBC TV documentary about her home town in which she showed off a leg tattoo saying “I love Boris”.
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A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the friends and family of Jade Smith at this extremely difficult time.
“We take all allegations of bullying or harassment incredibly seriously and are looking into the circumstances surrounding this deeply tragic incident.”
Smith described herself as “a young woman involved in politics trying to do what’s right for Redcar”, says The Guardian.
Dan Dewsbury, who directed The Mighty Redcar, said on Twitter that Smith was “passionate, brilliant and talented”.
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In a series of tweets scheduled for Wednesday, after her death, Smith appealed to the Conservative Party, saying: “This is the last time I’ll ever have a platform to ask them to change, to beg them for young people’s sake to change.”
She made allegations of bullying, abuse and sexual assault within the party, adding: “There is a reason we don’t feel safe at conference.”
Smith previously left the Conservatives in 2016, saying she had been “victimised and bullied” by those within the party, said the Daily Mail.
It comes four years after Tory campaigner Elliott Johnson took his own life after complaining of bullying in the party.
Smith told the Daily Mail in 2016: “I know the sad situation with Elliott wasn't a one-off. It happens day in, day out. There is a bullying culture to young people in the Conservative Party. I don't expect anything to change.”
The party said it would introduce a “code of conduct for volunteer leaders” after Johnson’s death, establishing a clear complaints procedure for volunteers, The Telegraph reported.
And the party instructed law firm Clifford Chance to investigate accusations of bullying in the party and produce a report.
Johnson’s father Ray said in August: “The party has recognised there are failings but they are also saying they’ve done nothing wrong. We decided not to take part in the Clifford Chance inquiry due to concerns that Tory HQ would be pulling the strings from behind the scenes,” PoliticsHome reported.
