This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7292642.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Tories withdraw whip from Spink Tories expel MP after Commons row
(10 minutes later)
The Conservatives say they have withdrawn the party whip from Castle Point MP Bob Spink.The Conservatives say they have withdrawn the party whip from Castle Point MP Bob Spink.
Mr Spink earlier told MPs he had resigned over the party's failure to deal with serious "criminal and other irregularities" in his constituency.Mr Spink earlier told MPs he had resigned over the party's failure to deal with serious "criminal and other irregularities" in his constituency.
At this point he was cut off by the Deputy Speaker. But the party says it withdrew the whip - excluding him from the Tory group at Westminster - because he had emailed the chief whip threatening to resign.
But a spokesman for the Conservative Party said it had withdrawn the whip from Mr Spink - excluding him from the Tory group of MPs at Westminster. The BBC understands he was facing a re-selection meeting next week.
Earlier Mr Spink, MP for Castle Point in Essex, made a point of order during a Commons debate about the Budget - telling MPs he had resigned the Conservative whip.
As a matter of good party discipline I cannot have MPs making threats to resign the whip at a time of their own choosing, if the demands of the party are not met Patrick McLoughlinTory chief whip
He said: "Mr Deputy Speaker, I wonder if you could advise me how I can proceed to inform the House that I have, as of today, resigned the Conservative Party whip because the Conservative Party has failed to deal with serious criminal and other irregularities in my constituency."
But the party says it withdrew the whip from Mr Spink, after he emailed the chief whip and threatened to resign.
In a letter the Conservative Chief Whip, Patrick McLoughlin, told him: "As a matter of good party discipline I cannot have MPs making threats to resign the whip at a time of their own choosing, if the demands of the party are not met.
"I must therefore treat your resignation as taking immediate effect".
The BBC understands that Mr Spink was facing a reselection meeting in his constituency next Tuesday.
According to sources he had refused to attend that meeting and had demanded support from the party nationally or he would resign. The chief whip then took the decision to remove the Whip from him.