The Tory chief whip has had one of the busiest jobs in government during this parliament, with a number of MPs having to be disciplined after facing a wide range of allegations.
Here are all eight MPs elected as Tories at the 2019 general election who are now sitting as independents.
Mark Menzies
The MP for Fylde agreed to “relinquish” the Tory whip following allegations he misused campaign funds.
According to The Times, he rang a 78-year-old party activist in the middle of the night saying he had been locked up and demanding £5,000 “as a matter of life and death” to pay for his release.
The sum eventually rose to £6,500 and was paid by the Fylde MP’s office manager from her personal bank account. She was reimbursed, the paper reported, from funds raised by Tory donors.
The MP, who is one of Rishi Sunak’s trade envoys, is also accused of using £14,000 of campaign funds to pay for private medical expenses. He denies the allegations.
William Wragg
Wragg resigned the Tory whip voluntarily after becoming embroiled in a honeytrap scandal.
The 36-year-old admitted giving the phone numbers of other MPs to a person he met on the dating app Grindr.
Wragg said he had been “weak” after becoming concerned that the man had “compromising” material on him.
He also resigned as a vice-chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, as well as chairman of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee.
Crispin Blunt
The former minister lost the whip after being arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances last October.
In a statement, he said the arrest was “unnecessary” and he is “confident” the police investigation will end without charge.
Blunt was re-bailed in January and is due to appear in court again this month.
Andrew Bridgen
Andrew Bridgen had the party whip removed in January last year after he compared the Covid vaccine to the Holocaust.
Chief whip Simon Hart said the North West Leicestershire MP had “crossed a line, causing great offence in the process”.
Julian Knight
The Solihull MP was suspended in December 2022 after a complaint of serious sexual assault was made against him.
The following day Knight, who was chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport committee at the time, described the move as “wrong and unjustified”.
He was told last month that he will face no criminal action.
Matt Hancock
The former cabinet minister was disciplined by the party after agreeing to appear on ‘I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here’.
Simon Hart said: “Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect.”
Hancock defied all expectations to come third in the reality show, and announced last month that he is standing down at the next election.
Rob Roberts
The MP for Delyn in North Wales had the Tory whip removed in May 2022 after he was found to have made repeated unwanted advances to a member of staff.
Roberts was also suspended from the House of Commons for six weeks for breaching sexual misconduct rules.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the then Commons leader, said it would be “honourable” for Roberts to stand down as an MP, but he continues to sit as an independent.
Bob Stewart
The former soldier gave up the Tory whip in November last year while he appealed against his conviction for a racially-aggravated public order offence.
Although that was quashed in February, he continues to sit as an independent.
Four others who were elected as Tories in 2019 - Chris Pincher, David Warburton, Neil Parish and Scott Benton - also lost the party whip but are no longer sitting as MPs.
Seven former Labour MPs are also currently sitting as independents after losing their party whip, as are one former Plaid Cymru MP and one former SNP MP.
It means that the number of independents - 18 - outnumber the 14 Lib Dems MPs.