Natalie Elphicke, the Member of Parliament for Dover who recently defected from the Conservative Party to Labour, has issued an apology concerning her past defense of her ex-husband, Charlie Elphicke, after his conviction for sexual assault.
Natalie Elphicke’s decision to join Labour had sparked criticism among those concerned about remarks she had made following the conviction of her former husband (and predecessor as MP for Dover) Charlie Elphicke in 2020 for sexually assaulting two women. He was jailed for two years. Ms Elphicke had branded his conviction a “terrible miscarriage of justice” saying he had been a victim “easy target” for false allegations.
In a statement Elphicke said, “The period of 2017 – 2020 was an incredibly stressful and difficult one for me as I learned more about the person I thought I knew. I know it was far harder for the women who had to relive their experiences and give evidence against him. I have previously, and do, condemn his behaviour towards other women and towards me. It was right that he was prosecuted and I’m sorry for the comments that I made about his victims.”
Her apology came after Labour’s chair Anneliese Dodds said Ms Elphicke has already been held accountable for past comments. Ms Dodds was also tackled about the case of Diane Abbott, who has been suspended from Labour and currently sits as an independent. Ms Dodds said she had “enormous respect” for Ms Abbott as a trailblazer but could not comment on an independent process.
Amid the growing backlash, a member of Labour’s powerful NEC said the defection was “a colossal error of judgement from Starmer”. Jess Barnard said: “His welcoming of Natalie Elphicke undermines the fight against sexual harassment and is totally inconsistent with Labour values.
Senior Tories taunted Labour about the defection. David Cameron, the foreign secretary and former prime minister, said the decision to admit Elphicke showed Labour stood for nothing. “What does this tell us about the party she’s joining? In life, if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything,” he said in response to a question from a reporter. Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, joked to MPs: “I am not about to defect to the opposition benches. They wouldn’t be interested in me, I’m too left wing.”
Relevant articles:
– Politics latest: New Labour MP Natalie Elphicke’s apology ‘unlikely to change minds’ , Sky News, 05/10/2024
– Tory defector Natalie Elphicke apologises for defending sexual predator ex-husband, Yahoo News UK, 05/09/2024
– Labour’s new MP Natalie Elphicke apologises for comments about her ex-husband’s victims, The Independent, 05/09/2024
– Natalie Elphicke ‘sorry’ for defending ex-husband jailed for sexual assault, The Guardian, 05/09/2024
– Natalie Elphicke apologises for comments about ex-husband’s victims, BBC, 05/09/2024