THE Hampshire Crimestoppers chairman has insisted he has “nothing to hide” over his links to the Conservative party, ahead of this week’s Police and Crime Commissioner election.

Simon Hayes has stood for the upcoming pole as an independent candidate for the £85,000 a year role – but his rivals claim he has lied about his connection with the Tories.

The region’s Conservative party says that Mr Hayes told voters he had left the party in 2006, when in fact he rejoined as a member in 2011.

East Hampshire Conservative Association chairman David Parkinson said today: “Mr Hayes rejoined the Conservative Party online in February 2011, giving the address in Northamptonshire where he and his wife were on the register of electors.

“Mr Hayes wants to be the Police and Crime Commissioner.

“If he couldn’t be the Conservative candidate, then he would stand as an Independent.

“He is perfectly entitled to do so.

“What he shouldn’t do is tell lies.

“This will be a position of trust – Mr Hayes has disqualified himself.”

But Mr Hayes has strongly denied any wrongdoing, saying his campaign is completely independent of any political party.

He said: “I’m not a member of the Conservative party and I have got no support from the official Conservative party in the election.

“The money in my campaign fund has been raised from individual people and I’m not getting anything from the Conservative party.

“The issue with my past relationship with the Conservative party I have never hidden.

“I joined the Conservative party again in 2011, but I didn’t rejoin in 2012.

“I paid a £20 membership fee but had no involvement with any activities.

“I don’t know why I did join in 2011, but I did for a 12-month period and then didn’t renew it in February 2012.

“There’s nothing to hide. I’m standing now as an independent candidate with no obligations to the Conservative party.”

Mr Hayes has also said that his address is in Lymington and that he is living in Hampshire to set up a drugs rehabilitation centre in Ringwood.

He added: “My wife is a vicar in Northamptonshire – she has her career and I have my career.

“We moved out of Hampshire in 2005.

“I have always wanted to come back to Hampshire and when I started this rehab unit in Ringwood, I moved back down to Hampshire in order to work on it.”

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