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Chris Davies lost his seat in Brecon and Radnorshire after he was convicted of a falsee expenses claim
A former MP who lost his seat after he was convicted of a false expenses claim has been selected by the Conservatives to stand in the general election.
Chris Davies lost his Brecon and Radnorshire seat after 10,005 people signed a recall petition.
He stood again but lost a subsequent by-election to the Liberal Democrats.
A Welsh Conservative source said Mr Davies had not yet been officially nominated, “but he is the candidate” for the Anglesey seat of Ynys Mon.
Mr Davies, 51, admitted two charges of a false expenses claim in March after trying to split the cost of £700 worth of pictures between two office budgets by creating fake invoices, when he could have claimed the amount by other means.
He made an “unreserved apology” and was ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work and was fined £1,500.
Angela Burns, Welsh Conservative AM for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, referring to events surrounding independent politician Neil McEvoy, said: “I thought that today we had reached a nadir in Welsh politics.
“Then I find out that Chris Davies has been imposed as a candidate in Anglesey. You couldn’t make it up!”
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Chris Davies had been MP since 2015 but was unseated by a petition after admitting submitting two false expenses invoices for photographs
Another Conservative source in Wales said it was a “surprising choice, given the experience in Brecon and Radnorshire” and the chances for the party in the seat were slimmer than yesterday: “It is inexplicable.”
The Welsh Conservatives have been asked for comment.
Labour has selected Mary Roberts for the 12 December poll, while Plaid Cymru has picked Aled ap Dafydd.
The Brexit Party intends to stand Helen Jenner.
Mr ap Dafydd said: “This is unbelievable from the Tories. By imposing a convicted former MP who was found guilty of a false expenses claim as the candidate for the island shows how little they care about Ynys Mon.
“This makes a mockery of the people of the island.”
The summer by-election cut the Conservative working majority to just one when Jane Dodds overturned Mr Davies’s 8,038 majority to beat Conservative Chris Davies by 1,425 votes.
