Benjamin Harris-Quinney suspended from Conservative Party

The chairman of the oldest Conservative think tank, the Bow Group, has been suspended for making comments against LGBT rights at a Christian event in Moscow and calling for Conservatives to vote UKIP in the election.

Benjamin Harris-Quinney is a councillor on East Herts District Council and chairman of the influential Conservative Party Bow Group. In the run up to the elections earlier this month he called on eurosceptic Conservatives to vote UKIP in places where the Conservatives couldn't win so the writing was on the wall as far as his future with the Conservative Party was concerned. The discovery of a video of him briefing against gay rights and celebrating the fact that most Conservative MPs voted against gay marriage was the final nail in the coffin. The complaint against him is believed to have been made by radio presenter, political blogger and publisher Iain Dale.

Chairman of Conservative thinktank tells members to vote UKIP

The Chairman of the Bow Group, the oldest Conservative Party thinktank in existence, has told Conservatives to vote UKIP in places where the Tories can't win.

Benjamin Harris-Quinney said that "few in the Conservative Party will acknowledge the reality" that the Conservatives are unlikely to get a majority and called on Conservatives to vote UKIP "who are best placed to beat Labour in many areas".

In response, the Tories have rolled out three former ministers and an MEP to tell Conservatives to vote Conservative at all costs, even if it means handing Labour a victory.