OTTAWA—Tony Clement, the two-time Conservative leadership hopeful with a storied career in right-wing politics in Ontario, is now an independent.Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer told reporters Wednesday that Clement has resigned from caucus — at Scheer’s request — after Clement alleged he was being extorted after sending sexual photos to an unknown party.Subscribe to the Star to support political reporting and analysis from our award-winning journalists in Ottawa.While Clement suggested Tuesday that it was an isolated incident, several women spoke out against him on Twitter, suggesting that he had creeped on their social media profile.“I took him at his word that this was an isolated incident. Since then, there have been numerous reports of other incidents, allegations,” Scheer told reporters outside the House of Commons.“New information became available today that suggests that there are allegations that this is not an isolated incident, and therefore I asked Tony to resign from caucus, and he has done so.”Read more:Opinion | Vinay Menon: I was going to write about Donald Trump, but Tony Clement wouldn’t let meConservative MP Tony Clement scales back duties, says he’s being extorted over sexually explicit imagesJim Wilson’s resignation announcement was delayed to protect accuser, Ford saysIn a statement Tuesday evening, Clement said he had sent several sexually explicit photos and one video to a person he believed to be a consenting adult. At Clement’s request, the RCMP is now trying to figure out who that person actually is.The Star reported Tuesday night that Clement notified the Privy Council Office, the department that supports the prime minister, about the affair. The Prime Minister’s Office has also been apprised of the matter.That would be rare for an opposition MP caught up in a sexting scandal. But Clement sat on the newly-formed National Security and Information Committee o ...
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