Tories who wrote court references for disgraced MP look to block media release

Former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke was jailed for two years for sexual assaulting two women (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

Four Tory MPs and a peer who gave a disgraced former colleague character references for his court case have written to senior judges calling for them not to release the statements of others.

The five politicians have opted to publish their own testimonies in order to publicly challenge a media request for all the character references submitted during the case of former Dover MP Charlie Elphicke to be released.