Keir Starmer is struggling to contain mounting Labour fury over the defection of Natalie Elphicke today.
Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley said it was 'outrageous' Ms Elphicke was allowed to join Labour when Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn remain suspended. A jubilant Sir Keir unveiled Ms Elphicke as his latest recruit in a moment of high drama at PMQs yesterday, insisting it showed Rishi Sunak's government was crumbling
However, Sir Keir also faced a backlash over his decision to embrace an MP who had branded him 'Sir Softie' over his stance on immigration and who defended her former MP husband when he was convicted of sexual assault.'She's totally right-wing and supported her husband when he sexually assaulted women.
Labour MPs privately voiced fears about Sir Keir's decision to welcome Ms Elphicke. One said: 'There is a lot of concern about whether we have done our due diligence on this one.' In a lengthy statement, Ms Elphicke said Labour had undergone 'dramatic' change and was now the party of the centre ground while the Conservatives had become 'a byword for incompetence and division'.
The 53-year-old has been in the firing line of the migrant crisis as the MP for Dover in Kent, where many of those crossing the Channel in small boats come ashore. Her defection prompted anger from Tory MPs, with former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns tweeting: 'You were a centre right Conservative, Labour want to give asylum to 50,000 plus people.Her post contains a screenshot of a headline saying: 'Don't trust Labour on immigration they really want open borders, warns Natalie Elphicke.'
She hit the headlines in 2020 after she dumped her self-proclaimed 'naughty Tory' husband on Twitter after 25 years of marriage. It is the first time the pair had been pictured together since they arrived hand-in-hand at court throughout his trial, which culminated in Mrs Elphicke storming out after the verdict.
'It was obvious to me from reading the evidence during lockdown that the criminal allegations against him were complete nonsense, and I still believe they are.'
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