URGENT: Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries defects to Reform UK

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE Ex-Tory minister Nadine Dorries defects to Reform UK3 hours agoShareSaveKate WhannelPolitical reporterShareSavePA MediaFormer Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has defected to Reform UK.Speaking to the Daily Mail, the ex-MP for Mid-Bedfordshire said: "The Tory Party is dead. Its members now need to think the unthinkable and look to the future."Dorries served as culture secretary and as a health minister under Boris Johnson, of whom she was a close ally.She is the latest in a string of defections from the Conservatives to Reform UK, including former Welsh Secretary David Jones and ex-Tory Chairman Sir Jake Berry.A Conservative Party spokesman said: "We wish Nadine well."Dorries' defection comes as Reform members head to Birmingham for the party's annual conference, which starts on Friday. KEY DETAILS: • Ex-Tory chairman Jake Berry defects to Reform UKNadine Dorries quits Commons with attack on PMBefore joining Parliament in 2005, Dorries worked as a nurse and later became a bestselling author of a series of novels based on her upbringing in Liverpool.She also appeared on the ITV reality TV show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here - a decision that saw her briefly suspended as a Conservative MP. • Dorries stepped down as an MP in 2023, after 18 years in the House of Commons, with an attack on then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. • She has since been critical of current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. This is a developing story. More details will be provided as they become available. *Source: Bbc*