New Labour MP Natalie Elphicke apologises over comments she made about her ex-husband's victims
9 May 2024, 13:38 | Updated: 9 May 2024, 16:08
New Labour MP Natalie Elphicke has apologised for comments she made supporting her ex-husband after he was convicted of sexual assault, following criticism from her new party colleagues.
Ms Elphicke's former husband and predecessor as MP for Dover, Charlie Elphicke, was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting two women and jailed for two years.
She ended the marriage after his conviction but supported his unsuccessful appeal, saying Elphicke had been "attractive, and attracted to women" and "an easy target for dirty politics and false allegations".
Amid pressure from her new Labour colleagues, Ms Elphicke apologised today, saying: "My decision to join the Labour Party is not one I have taken lightly but one I made because I am convinced that this country needs a new government led by Keir Starmer to fix the problems we see from housing to small boats.
"I always knew that this decision would put a spotlight on the prosecution of my ex-husband and I want to address some of the commentary around this head on.
"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.
"It is vital that women can have confidence in the criminal justice system and our rates of prosecution and conviction are far too low as a country.
"Keir Starmer's mission to halve male violence against women and girls is critical and I wanted to take the opportunity to express my explicit support for Labour colleagues working to realise it."
Labour has defended welcoming her into the party.
Labour chair Anneliese Dodds said the Dover MP was a "good, natural fit" for her party.
Mrs Elphicke defected to Labour yesterday hitting out at the "broken promises of Rishi Sunak's tired and chaotic government".