Tories at war after Christchurch MP's 'disgraceful' objection to child protection law

CHRISTCHURCH MP Sir Chris Chope was at war with fellow Conservatives this week after sparking outrage by obstructing a proposed law to protect young girls from abuse.

The MP – who infamously also objected to a ban on taking photos up women’s skirts – did the same thing in the House of Commons last Friday to block legislation meant to help rescue girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM).

He was invited to explain himself to the executive of his Christchurch and East Dorset Conservative Association – a summons he has ignored.

Sir Chris says he is acting on principle against the legislation that ought to be backed by the government being nodded through as private members’ bills without the “safeguard” of scrutiny.

His latest intervention came as councillors prepare for the local elections in May. It provoked widespread condemnation on Twitter from fellow Conservatives, including senior cabinet members – and even calls by MPs to quit the party.

Ten of the 21 Tories on the borough council – calling themselves ‘Conservative councillors for Christchurch’ – issued a statement savaging 71-year-old Sir Chris as a member of the “misogynistic old guard”.

They said: “‏Conservative councillors for Christchurch would like to make it clear the actions of our MP in no way reflect our opinions.

“They do not believe that pedantry should take precedence over human rights and it is time for the misogynistic old guard to recognise and reflect the opinions of the modern Conservative.

“FGM is not acceptable in today’s society and we hope that the House of Commons will find a way of dealing with this as a matter of urgency.”

The group comprised Cllrs Lisle Smith, Trish Jamieson, Claire Bath, Tavis Fox, Sue Spittle, Wendy Grace, Ray Nottage, Vicki Hallam, Bernie Davis, Peter Hall and Tory council candidate Peter Watson-Lee.

Sir Chris, who has been Christchurch MP since 1997, has objected to a string of high-profile causes including the first reading of the FGM bill last year, as well as equal pay for women, and protecting police dogs and horses from stabbings.

The chair of Christchurch and East Dorset Conservative Association, Cllr Ray Bryan, told the A&T on Monday he had sent repeated emails to Sir Chris without response, amid media reports of members calling up in tears over the issue.

Cllr Bryan told the A&T: “I think Sir Chris needs to be given the opportunity to explain his reasons and answer questions from the executive.

“When we had the situation with the up-skirting, I had a face-to-face meeting with Sir Chris and felt I had achieved what I needed to achieve.

“This is a whole new issue and I want to understand why Sir Chris decided he needed to object when anything that improves the protection of children has to be of utmost importance.”

The bill would have amended the 1989 Children Act to add FGM to threats like forced marriage or domestic violence for which the courts can issue protection orders for children deemed at risk.

Parliamentary process allows private members’ bills on a Friday to move to the next stage of the Commons without debate if no one calls object. Without being nodded through, proposals mostly run out of time. The FGM proposal was on its second reading and has already passed the Lords.

Sir Chris denied doing anything wrong and, speaking to the A&T, accused critical local party colleagues of bearing “a grudge” over his opposition to Christchurch council merging with Bournemouth and Poole in April.

He said: “People with different agendas which are not related to the matters of this particular issue have been trying to stir things up within the association, because there are a number of people there who still bridle at the fact that I campaigned to keep Christchurch independent.”

He added: “That’s the politics of smear, really. Just because I demand there should be a debate on an issue, it does not mean I am against that subject.”

He said he would attend the usual meeting of the local association’s executive before its AGM next month.

Sir Chris pointed out the government had this week put down a motion for the FGM bill, meaning it should be given time later for debate.

“This is all about discussion and scrutiny. However important a government bill is, it does not go through without discussion and debate on the second reading,” he said.

Responding to accusations he did not object to bills from MPs he was friendly with, he said those would be blocked by government whips anyway.

Sir Chris, who has a majority of nearly 25,200 in Christchurch, said: “I can’t expect to be popular with everybody. But popularity is not meant to be the main cause of an MP.”

Asked if he would carry on blocking bills, he did not answer directly but said he “lived in hope” that the rules would be changed so that he did not need to.

There was strong condemnation of Sir Chris’s behaviour from fellow Conservative parliamentarians on Twitter.

Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset, said: “Yet again he’s out of tune, wrong and an embarrassment. It’s time he considered his position and frankly buggered off.”

Liz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury, said Sir Chris’s action was a “complete dis-grace”. Tory MP Richard Benyon even tweeted Sir Chris’s email address for critics to convey their anger.

One of the few MPs to defend him was New Forest West’s Sir Desmond Swayne. He wrote on his website that Sir Chris had “done us all a favour” by previously objecting to the upskirting bill which was recently made law with help from the government.

In Christchurch, local artist Lorna Rees repeated her previous protests against Sir Chris by attaching a pair of knickers to his constituency office in Bargates on Monday, penned with “#KnickersToChope” and calling for a by-election.

Andrew Dunne, chair of Christchurch Labour Party, demanded action from the Tories and said: “He shames our constituency, and is enforcing a reputation that we do not want, nor deserve, and to think he was given a knighthood by Theresa May last year.”

Asked whether the party would take any action against Sir Chris, a Tory HQ spokesperson told the A&T: “The Conservative party will examine complaints in line with our code of conduct procedures. However, parliamentary proceedings do not fall under the remit of the code.”