EXCLUSIVE: Ex Tory Chairman’s ‘Pound Shop Machiavelli’ Paul Abbott Resigns Amidst Tory Bullying Scandal

Paul Abbott, the ex Chief of Staff to the former Conservative Party Chairman has resigned from his role as Chief Executive of the Conservative Way Forward think tank as speculation continues to grow about his role in the now infamous Conservative Party bullying scandal, Breitbart London can exclusively reveal.

Mr. Abbott, whose former boss Grant Shapps MP resigned as a government minister last month claiming the “buck stops with him” has been the subject of growing scrutiny since it was revealed that he advised Tory activists to get “someone else to shoot them” – an aggressive way of urging action against political opponents.

He has over the past few months attempted to distance himself from Mark Clarke – the suspended ex Tory candidate who found himself at the centre of the bullying allegations, claiming he “wished he had never met him”.

But Mr. Abbott was soon revealed to be one of the key players behind the “rehabilitation” of Mr. Clarke, with a leaked email from Mr. Abbott claiming stating he was “dealing with all the complaints made about roadtrip and [Clarke’s] behaviour”.

Mr. Abbott’s tactics of deleting emails and advising against paper trails earned him the nickname “pound shop Machiavelli”.

But just as Breitbart London broke the original news of the death of Tory activist Elliott Johnson, this website also documented in August how Mr. Abbott was the architect of what he called a “drive by shooting” of a Conservative Party member.

Mr. Abbott is thought to have resigned his role from the Tory think tank Conservative Way Forward this week after his wife demanded he take time out from politics.

He has been spotted over the past few weeks meeting with Conservative Party activists at the Westminster Arms pub, just a few seconds’ walk from Conservative Party Headquarters – at one point leaving his bicycle overnight for 24 hours, returning in a black cab to pick it up the next day.

His name has been removed from the Conservative Way Forward website, as has that of the group’s Chairman, Donal Blaney, who is understood to have resigned his role also.

The group’s founding president is the late Lady Thatcher, while its parliamentary council includes Dr. Liam Fox MP, Greg Hands MP, Gerald Howarth MP, James Cleverly MP, Conor Burns MP and Charlie Elphicke MP.

Mr. Abbott was recently criticised for wanting to “celebrate the success” of the Team 2015 campaign organisation that was tied to Road Trip 2015 – the bus campaign run by Mr. Clarke.