Tory whip withdrawn from Lord Heseltine

Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine h as had the Conservative whip suspended after saying he would vote for the Liberal Democrats in Thursday’s European election.

The grandee, a lifelong pro-European, said he would “experiment” with voting Lib Dem because of the government’s Brexit policy.

A Conservative spokesman said :“Lord Heseltine has given more than half a century of service to the Conservative Party and his long-standing and sincerely held views on Europe are well understood.

“But, with his long experience, he will know that publicly endorsing the candidates of an another party is not compatible with taking the Conservative whip in Parliament.

“As a result, the Chief Whip in the House of Lords has informed Lord Heseltine that he will have the Conservative whip suspended. This will be reviewed if he is willing to support Conservative candidates at future elections.”

The peer used a newspaper article on Sunday to explain his decision to vote Lib Dem in the European contest.

Tor y grandee Sir Nicho - las Soames condemned the move, saying: “I think that’s a really stupid, bovine thing to do.”