Fresh disaster for Rishi Sunak as former Tory MP Julian Knight set to stand as independent
Julian Knight is set to run under his own banner in the newly created constituency of Solihull West and Shirley.
A former Conservative MP is set to run as an independent against the official Tory candidate. Julian Knight is expected to announce that he will stand in the July 4 general election as an independent candidate for Solihull West and Shirley.
He was a Tory MP for Solihull from 2015-22, but lost the party whip after police investigated allegations against him. However, both the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police ended their inquiries and he was never arrested.
He was then an independent MP until the General Election was called.
Mr Knight, 52, has always insisted he was the victim of "false and malicious" accusations that did "untold damage" to his physical and mental health. He was said to be furious at the way he was treated by the Conservative Party, which failed to stand by him.
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His decision to stand as an independent, with an announcement expected imminently, is the latest blow to Rishi Sunak after another former Tory MP, Mark Logan, announced he was now backing Labour.
Despite his anger at the party, Mr Knight's election campaign will focus on local issues such as policing and the need to get more funding for Solihull.
He was planning to back Andy Street had the former West Midlands mayor become the Conservative candidate. However, Mr Street has decided not to run for Parliament.
Instead, the Conservative candidate will be chosen on Friday. Contenders include Nicola Richards, former MP for West Bromwich East, who is looking for a new seat.
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Mr Knight, who served as chairman of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, was the victorious candidate for Solihull in 2015 when the constituency switched from the Liberal Democrats to the Tories.
The new constituency of Solihull West and Shirley has been created this year because of boundary changes.
It is unclear who the main opposition to the Conservatives will be in the constituency. The anti-Tory vote could be split between the Lib Dems, Labour and the Green Party, which have done well in Solihull in some recent local elections.
Mr Knight is said to be planning to make a formal announcement of his plan to stand on May 31 around lunchtime.
