ONE of Cornwall’s six members of parliament is to spend a period as an independent MP while he is investigated by his party.

Perran Moon, the member of parliament for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, has confirmed that he has been suspended by the Labour party after voluntarily referring himself to its investigations process.

It comes after reports concerning Mr Moon and the payback of a government backed bounceback loan that was taken out during the coronavirus pandemic.

The loans were intended to help businesses return to trading after the turbulence caused by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions.

Mr Moon said that while the business began to repay this loan, unforeseen external market pressures on the business saw it cease trading in late 2022.

The parliamentarian added that he had sought professional advice before and since the company ceased trading on how to meet its statutory obligations, adding that he had behaved with complete integrity throughout this period.

It is expected that the investigation will take place across the next few weeks, with the potential that Mr Moon could be restored as a Labour MP if he is cleared of wrongdoing.

He will remain an MP during the period of his suspension and will remain available to constituents, he added.

In a statement, Mr Moon said: “Further to a recent media report about a company which I co-own before became an MP, I wanted to update constituents.

“I co-founded a start-up automotive sector training business in 2019. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company successfully applied for a bounce back loan to help with staffing costs and other essential business costs during the significant market turbulence during this period.

“The business began to repay this loan, however due to unforeseen external market pressures on the business and despite the best efforts of staff, the business ceased trading in late 2022.

“Both before and since the company ceased trading, I have sought professional advice about how to meet the company's statutory obligations. I take this responsibility seriously and I have acted with integrity throughout. So these matters can be looked into, I have voluntarily referred myself to the Labour Party's investigations process and will co-operate fully with that process until it is complete.

“I will of course be continuing to work hard every day for constituents across the Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency while this process is ongoing and thereafter.

“If you need to get in touch, please drop me an email at: [email protected] but I will not be making any further comments relating to the investigation until it is complete, which will hopefully be in a matter of weeks.”

A Labour Party spokesman said Mr Moon referred himself to the Labour Party "so that these matters can be investigated in line with the party's rules".

He added: "The Labour Party expects the highest standards from our elected representatives and we have robust processes in place to ensure those high standards are upheld.

"We cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing."