The Tories have finally moved away from their original line that the David Ruffley “issue was dealt with at the time by the police”, which had held from when news of his assault on a woman broke last month. This afternoon a CCHQ spokesperson tells Guido:

“The matter has been referred to the Chief Whip.”

As local concerns about Ruffley remaining as an MP spread to the central party, Michael Gove faces his first major test…

UPDATE: Guido sources say Chief Whip Michael Gove had several meetings with “a number” of complainants against Ruffley this week.