Disgraced ex-Tory MP's wife ends 25-year marriage after sexual assault conviction

The wife of disgraced former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke has said she is ending their marriage following his sexual assault conviction.

Natalie Elphicke, who succeeded him as MP for Dover last year, tweeted Thursday’s verdict brought “profound sorrow” and ended the former couple’s 25-year marriage.

Her husband was convicted of three counts of sexual assault against two women by unanimous jury verdict following a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court.

Father-of-two Elphicke was MP for Dover between 2010 and 2019, but had the Conservative party whip withdrawn after sexual assault allegations were passed to police.

It was reinstated when Theresa May faced a confidence vote as prime minister but later removed again.

He said he was accompanied to court each day by his wife, who won election to his seat after he stood down as candidate ahead of the 2019 general election.

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However, he told jurors he was struggling to save his marriage.

Elphicke said: “It hangs by a thread. I’ve made a complete mess of everything.”

A parliamentary worker in her early 20s, who cannot be identified, said Elphicke tried to kiss her and groped her after sharing a drink in Westminster in 2016, and ran his hand up her thigh the next month.

He said his wife only found out about his desire for an affair with the parliamentary worker when she examined the case details during the coronavirus lockdown.

She never gave evidence in his trial and did not sit in the courtroom as her husband took to the witness box, instead sitting in a quiet side room.

Elphicke’s other victim said she was sexually assaulted at Elphicke's London home in summer 2007 while Natalie Elphicke was away.

The woman, who also cannot be named, said he kissed and groped her and chased her round his home while saying: “I’m a naughty Tory.”

Following the guilty verdicts, Elphicke was told by the judge he faces a possible jail sentence.