This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The Conservative party has said it will look into the circumstances of the death of a young activist who alleged she had been the victim of bullying and abuse within the party.

Jade Smith, 21, from Redcar in north Yorkshire was found dead on Sunday in circumstances which Cleveland police say were not suspicious.

Smith, an active Tory supporter who had a tattoo reading “I love Boris Johnson”, previously described herself as “a young woman involved in politics trying to do what’s right for Redcar”.

Last year, Smith appeared in The Mighty Redcar, a BBC documentary about her home town. The programme’s director, Dan Dewsbury, paid tribute on Twitter describing her as “passionate, brilliant and talented”.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, timed to publish after her death, she referred to a number of difficult circumstances in her life. In one message said she wanted to appeal to the Conservative party, “to beg them for young people’s sake to change”.

Several tweets made allegations of bullying, abuse and sexual assault within the party, with one reading: “There is a reason we don’t feel safe at conference.”

In 2016, Smith briefly quit the party alleging she had been “victimised and bullied”, claims which were denied.

A Conservative party spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the friends and family of Jade Smith at this extremely difficult time.

“We take all allegations of bullying or harassment incredibly seriously and are looking into the circumstances surrounding this deeply tragic incident.”

The party carried out an inquiry into allegations of bullying following the death in 2015 of Elliott Johnson, a 21-year-old Conservative campaigner, who claimed he had been bullied by Mark Clarke, a former parliamentary candidate, who was expelled from the party. Clarke has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

Simon Clarke, the MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said Smith was “a remarkable and complex person” and “a young woman who wanted to succeed and make a difference.

“She would be the first to say she had made some mistakes but she also had real qualities - not least a fierce work ethic, a mischievous sense of humour and a passionate love of our area.”

• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found atwww.befrienders.org.





