Former Conservative candidate Jack Ross suspended after undercover footage

The Conservative Party has suspended the membership of Jack Ross, a former party election candidate, with immediate effect while an investigation takes place, according to a party spokesperson. The move follows an Al Jazeera documentary that included undercover footage of Ross.

Ross is chief executive of Turning Point UK, a spin-off of the campaign group founded by Charlie Kirk. The footage was broadcast in a documentary titled 'Contract Killers and the Far Right', and The Guardian credits Al Jazeera as the investigating outlet.

In the footage, Ross was filmed apparently discussing the cost of hiring contract killers. He was also filmed apparently discussing violent options for dealing with enemies, and he offered to broker the services of a far-right activist with alleged paramilitary links. Ross introduced the Al Jazeera reporter to a Glasgow man with alleged links to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, who offered to arrange killings for money.

The documentary also reports that Ross paid thousands of pounds to the Glasgow activist to organise a fake political rally supporting the lifting of UK sanctions on Zimbabwe. Sanctions are restrictions one country places on another, such as limits on trade or travel. Ross was reportedly acting on behalf of the Zimbabwean government.

Police Scotland said it would review and assess the documentary for any criminality.