Tory defector Natalie Elphicke apologizes for defending her ex-husband

The resigned Labor MP has apologized for comments she made in support of her ex-husband after he was convicted of sexual assault.

Natalie Elphicke’s decision to join the Labor Party had sparked criticism from those concerned about comments she made following the 2020 conviction of her former husband (and predecessor as MP for Dover) Charlie Elphicke of sexual assault had made two women. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Ms Elphicke had branded his conviction a “terrible miscarriage of justice” and said he had become an “easy target” of false accusations.

The current Dover MP was a controversial figure and was suspended for trying to influence court cases involving her disgraced ex-husband. After her exit, the website Politico reported that seven female Labor MPs said they felt “uncomfortable” when she joined the party.

However, on Thursday she condemned her ex-husband’s “behaviour towards other women and towards me”, adding that it was “right that he was prosecuted” and that she regretted “the comments I made about his victims”.

She said the time was “incredibly stressful” as she learned more “about the person I thought I knew.”

She added: “It is vital that women can have confidence in the criminal justice system and as a country our prosecution and conviction rates are far too low. Keir Starmer’s mission to halve male violence against women and girls is vital and I wanted the opportunity to express my strong support to Labor colleagues working to make it happen.”

‘miscarriage of justice’

Ms Elphicke was elected Conservative MP for Dover in 2019, taking up the seat held by her then husband.

She stood by him during his trial but said their marriage ended with his conviction. They divorced in 2021.

After the verdict, Ms Elphicke admitted her ex-husband was in the wrong, but added that the verdict was “excessive” and suggested the court had been “on a mission”.

She then told the Sun that he had been convicted of a terrible miscarriage of justice.”

She said his “attractiveness” made him an “easy target for dirty politics and false accusations.”

Judge Whipple told Mr Elphicke as he handed down his sentence: “You are a sexual predator who uses your success and respectability as a cover.” She ordered both women to appear in court and testify about the assaults you committed against them. It wasn’t easy for them and they showed great courage.”

In September 2021, Ms Elphicke was suspended from Parliament for one day for attempting to influence a court case involving her former husband.

She was one of five Conservative MPs who had tried to interfere in a decision regarding Mr Elphicke.

They wrote to senior members of the judiciary, using stationery provided to them by the House of Commons, expressing concern that a junior judge might release character references in the run-up to sentencing relating to Mr Elphicke.

The standards committee concluded that the letters were an “attempt to exert undue influence on court proceedings”.

Rwanda politics

Ms Elphicke’s open support of the Government’s Rwanda Bill, which Labor says it will repeal, also raised eyebrows over her decision to defect.

A year ago she claimed in a newspaper column: “Not only does Labor not have its own plan to tackle illegal immigration, it simply doesn’t want to,” and said Starmer “has promised to dismantle our world-leading partnership to stamp it out.” “illegal migrants to Rwanda”.

The MP also wrote an article in which he referred to Starmer as “Sir Softie” and said he could not be trusted on immigration.

Asked about her previous criticism of Labor over immigration policy, she said Sunak was “the man who said he would stop the boats” but so far this year there had been “a record number of small boat arrivals”.

Ms Elphicke added: “So he’s not stopping the boats and letting the country down. Meanwhile, under Labor, they realize that having defense is important and they want to make sure they have good national security. So I think we should have confidence that Labor is the party that will tackle this issue of small boat crossings.”

Criticism of Marcus Rashford

Ms Elphicke previously caused controversy when she publicly lashed out at England striker Marcus Rashford, saying the footballer should have spent more time “perfecting his game” than “playing politics” after he starred in the Euro 2020 final missed a penalty.

Rashford led a high-profile campaign to persuade the government to offer free meals to vulnerable young people during the school holidays during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Elphicke apologized but Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, her new colleague, was so outraged by her comment that she said the then Tory MP should “f*** off”.

In her apology, she said: “Last night I shared the frustration and heartache of millions of other England fans.”

“I regret privately sharing a hasty reaction to Marcus Rashford’s missed penalty and apologize to him for any suggestion that he is not fully focused on his football.”

England lost the final to Italy on penalties.

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