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Tory Party to investigate bullying allegations made by young activist who took her own life

THE Conservative Party has said it will investigate allegations of bullying and abuse made by a young activist who committed suicide last week.

Jade Smith, from Redcar in North Yorkshire, was 21 when she was found dead last Sunday in circumstances police said are not suspicious.

In a series of tweets posted on Wednesday, timed to be published after her death, she appealed to the Conservative Party “to beg them for young people’s sake to change.”

Several tweets from her account, that has been suspended, made allegations of bullying, abuse and sexual assault.

The care worker, who had a tattoo on her leg that read “I [heart symbol] Boris Johnson,” had tweeted: “There is a reason we don’t feel safe at conference.”

She also tweeted: “Back in 2015/2016 I tried to kill myself several times because of the Tory Party.

“I was institutionalised due to bullying and harassment I received. I was stalked by the press, the press stood outside my college with cameras. I was [a] 17/18 year old female who had been bullied.”

Her friend Tom Seston told Mirror Online that she was under pressure at work and in fear of losing her job.

He said that she had felt unable to turn down requests to make home calls on her days off because she was still in a six-month probation period on a “standard variable-hours contract”.

It was “essentially a zero-hours contract in all but name,” Hartlepool Care Services director Chris Doughty — who employed Ms Smith — told the website.

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.”

The party carried out an inquiry into the death of 21-year-old Elliott Johnson in 2015, who claimed he had been bullied by former parliamentary candidate Mark Clarke.

Mr Clarke, who was expelled from the party, has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

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