A former Conservative MP has defected to Reform UK. During the Reform UK East Midlands Conference in Leicester, party leader Nigel Farage introduced Marco Longhi to the stage as "a loyal member of the Conservative Party for the last goodness knows how many years".

It comes after Reform MP Lee Anderson was repeatedly interrupted by Tommy Robinson supporters during his speech to the party's UK East Midlands Conference in Leicester

Ex-MP attacks Tories saying the party of Churchill and Thatcher ‘has transformed into something unrecognisable’ in another blow to new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch weeks after former minister Dam

The latest defection to Reform Marco Longhi has suggested that if Elon Musk's potential donation to the populist party becomes a contentious issue, broader questions must be raised about political funding in Britain.