Charlie Elphicke: Who is the disgraced former Tory MP and why was he jailed?

PA
Daniel Keane17 December 2021

Disgraced former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke will appear in court again on Friday over his failure to pay £35,000 following his sentence for sexually assaulting two women.

The ex-Dover MP, 50, said he could not contribute towards the prosecution’s legal fees as he is unemployed and making a Universal Credit claim after his release in September.

Elphicke was jailed for two years in September 2020 after being found guilty of three counts of sexual assault following a month-long trial. He served a year of his sentence before being released.

The former Government whip, who is on licence until next year, was summonsed to attend Uxbridge Magistrates’ Crown Court on Friday for the non-payment of £35,000 towards prosecution costs.

Ahead of his appearance in court, the Standard looks back at Elphicke’s trial.

Who is Charlie Elphicke?

Charlie Elphicke is the former Conservative MP for Dover.

Before being elected to Parliament, he worked as a partner at law firm Reed Smith and in the pharmaceutical research industry.

Elphicke was selected as Tory candidate for Dover in 2007 which was then a safe Labour seat.

At the 2010 general election, he won with a 10.4 per cent swing from Labour to Conservative.

He became a Government whip during David Cameron’s premiership in 2015 but returned to the backbenches when Theresa May came to power the following year.

Elphicke had the party whip suspended in 2017 when the allegations of sexual assault first emerged.

However, he was controversially reinstated a year later for a crucial no-confidence vote in Mrs May.

What was he jailed for?

The sexual assault allegations against Elphicke were first reported in November 2017 when it emerged that Tory whips had suspended him over “serious allegations” that had been referred to the police by a complainant.

However, the Conservative party later restored the whip after the investigation proved inconclusive.

At the time, he denied any wrongdoing.

On 30 July 2020, Elphicke was found guilty on three counts of sexual assault. He was sentenced to two years in prison on September 15 that year.

What emerged during the trial?

The sentencing judge, Mrs Justice Whipple, described Elphicke as a “sexual predator” who used his “success and respectability as a cover” and told a “pack of lies”.

During his trial, jurors heard how he had asked one of his victims about bondage and sex, then kissed her and groped her breast before chasing her around his home, chanting: “I’m a naughty Tory.”

Eventually, the victim barricaded herself in another room to end the pursuit.

In March, he lost a court of appeal challenge against the length of his sentence.

Natalie Dawson, CPS Specialist Prosecutor, said the assaults had a profound impact on the two women.

She said: “Charles Elphicke abused his power and influence over these women to make unwanted and forceful sexual advances towards them.

“Elphicke has lied repeatedly about his conduct and failed to take responsibility for his behaviour and the harm suffered by his victims.”

Charlie Elphicke and his wife Natalie
PA

Why is he appearing in court again?

Elphicke will appear in court over the non-payment of £35,000 of prosecution costs which Justice Whipple said would “otherwise fall on the public purse”.

Last month, she told the former MP, contrary to his claims that he was unable to provide the money, he had “substantial equity in your family home which is currently up for sale”.

Elphicke’s barrister Ian Winter QC had told the court his client had “a fair bit of debt”, and that his estranged wife Natalie Elphicke loaned him £100,000 to pay for legal bills.

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is now pursuing the non-payment of the fine and has enforcement powers.

Refusal to pay could result in a criminal charge being brought.

“I find myself in a very difficult and embarrassed position,” he told magistrates last month.

He urged magistrates to “give me time to the end of my sentence to get myself back on my feet”.

The court heard Elphicke received £51,000 from the sale of his marital home but most of the money has been used “in legal fees and to pay rent”.

He said he had paid six months’ rent up front for a one-bedroom flat, valued online at nearly £475,000, in Fulham. He added: “That is why I have very limited cash to meet my living expenses.”

Elphicke said he had also made a claim for universal credit that is “currently being processed” and which should be dealt with by December 12.

“I have no job, I have no career, I am long-term unemployed,” said Elphicke. “I am working with the job centre and my probation officer to find a new career.”

He told the court he had worked with the Step Change debt charity to assess his financial situation but the £1-a-month repayment proposal was not accepted by the court.

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