Politics latest news: Elphicke apologises for comments about husband’s sex assault victims

Natalie Elphicke has already been made accountable for past comments she made defending her ex-husband after he was convicted for sexual assault, Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds has said.

Ms Elphicke’s former husband and predecessor as MP for Dover Charlie Elphicke was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting two women and sentenced to two years in prison.

Although she ended the marriage after his conviction, Ms Elphicke supported his unsuccessful appeal, saying Elphicke had been “attractive, and attracted to women” and “an easy target for dirty politics and false allegations”.

Asked about those comments, Ms Dodds told Times Radio: “Of course, this is an incredibly serious issue and there was a judicial process, quite rightly, around that sexual assault.

“There was accountability for Natalie Elphicke in the fact that there was a parliamentary process around this.

“Now, it’s quite right that there was a parliamentary process, as I say Natalie Elphicke has gone through that, and I believe that she has addressed this in Parliament and in public, and rightly so, because this is a very serious subject.”

Ms Elphicke was suspended from the House of Commons for one day in September 2021 over claims she attempted to influence the legal proceedings.