A Conservative has been accused of playing politics with the NHS after being kicked off the leadership of a patient group for non-attendance.

Mark Clarke, who will run for Tooting in the general election, was struck off the Wandsworth Link executive after missing meetings without explanation or apology.

This week, Mr Clarke claimed he resigned over policy issues after disagreeing with a proposal, later abandoned, for Link members to be paid.

The move was particularly embarrassing for Mr Clarke because he campaigned heavily on issues such as local maternity services and GP hours in the last year.

Leonie Cooper, deputy leader of the Labour group on the council, said: “I’m surprised and shocked. He’s interested in making it a campaign issue, but when it comes to real work he’s not prepared to put in the time. All he wants to do is play politics with the healthcare service.”

Mr Clarke put himself forward to be one of 12 representatives on the executive board early last year but then missed three bi-monthly meetings without explanation, despite attempts to contact him.

He was also elected chair of the Primary Health and Social Care sub-group, which was forced to continue without a leader in his absence.

In January 2009, Mr Clarke announced his “Link priorities” in a declaration of interest, which included supporting frontline NHS staff and standing up for patient views.

But after three missed meetings, the Link board executive decided to oust Mr Clarke, who was replaced by Carol Tan, via a by-election last month.

Colleen Bowen, 75, a Link member and patient, said: “To this day we still don’t have an apology and we don't know why he left. He’s got no loyalty, and if you’ve got no loyalty what have you got?”

Mr Clarke claimed he had resigned months earlier over a plan to pay Link members – which was later abandoned anyway. He said: “It’s not true. I resigned from the Link when they tried to pay each other.

“I think people paying each other is pretty appalling, I argued so and I didn’t want anything more to do with it.”

But Jeremy Ambache, former chair of Wandsworth Link, said: “It wasn’t a resigning issue for Mark and he’s not communicated that to me or any other member of the committee. It seems a bit of a fabrication.”