Chris Davies statement after he is forced out by recall petition

CHRIS DAVIES has said he hopes local voters will support him at the by-election which will be called as a result of him losing his seat following a recall petition

The ousted MP’s statement is the clearest sign yet he will be the Conservative candidate at the by-election.

He learned this morning he had lost his seat after 10,005 electors signed a recall petition.

Mr Davies, who faced the recall petition after admitting two charges related to false expenses claims, said he accepted full responsibility.

He said: "I am naturally disappointed with the result. What happened was my fault and no one else’s. I sincerely apologise to all the people of Brecon and Radnorshire – and now it is absolutely right that they have their say about whether they would still support me to be there their Member of Parliament in a by-election.

"I hope they do, and look forward to regaining their trust and building on the progress we have made over the last four years.

"Finally, I would like to say thank you for the many, many messages of support I have received and I look forward to campaigning over the coming weeks."

Mr Davies was first elected at the 2015 general election, when the Conservatives captured the Brecon and Radnorshire seat from the Liberal Democrats and increased his majority to more than 8,000 at the 2017 snap general election.

The false expense claim was submitted in April 2016 when he created two fake invoices to split the £700 cost for office photographs between two expense accounts. He was entitled to claim the cost of the photographs under the expenses scheme.The Liberal Democrats are expected to be the main challengers and Welsh party leader Jane Dodds will be its candidate.She said: "Thousands of residents across Brecon and Radnorshire have taken the chance to demand better than a Westminster politics that fails to take their concerns seriously.“Now we have a golden opportunity to do things differently. The clear choice in this by-election is between the Conservatives, whose chaos and infighting is letting our communities down, and a better future for our area with the Welsh Lib Dems.”Labour has also already chosen its candidate who is Brecon Town Councillor Tom Davies. He said: "The Tories should immediately move the writ in parliament, giving the people of Brecon and Radnorshire their chance to hold them to account and also to reject the austerity enabling Lib Dems. "Looking forward to being given the opportunity to return a voice to the people of B&R."Mr Davies, who has apologised for the offences, has previously said he would stand as a candidate in a by-election.The earliest a writ can be moved in Parliament to start the by-election is Tuesday.