Controversial Ashby MP Andrew Bridgen has joined the Reclaim Party after being expelled by the Conservatives.

The North West Leicestershire MP says he will contest the next General Election in a bid to retain his seat, and invited the Conservatives to put up a candidate against him.

Mr Bridgen was kicked out last month after he appeared to compare the Covid vaccine programme to the Holocaust.

He has represented the area as a Tory MP since 2010, but said he now believed the party "no longer represents the people of this great country".

In a statement released at 10am today (Wednesday), Mr Bridgen said he would "cross the floor" and sit on the opposition benches as the Reclaim Party's first MP.

He said: "There has been much speculation following my suspension and subsequent expulsion from the Conservative Party as to my next move.

"Despite having a right to an appeal and strong grounds to pursue one, I have decided not to do so.

"This is because I have lost faith in the Conservative Party and the impartiality of its disciplinary procedures.

"Even if I were to be given a fair hearing, which I doubt, I would not wish to rejoin the party after the treatment received by myself and my family over the past few years.

"This has not been an easy decision, and I am saddened that I have been left with no other choice.

"The culture in Parliament has become toxic, and the main parties have become monolithic and scared; they have abdicated duty and abandoned the public."

Mr Bridgen has been very critical over recent months about the roll-out of what he described as "experimental vaccines", and was initially suspended from the Conservatives when he tweeted vaccines were the "biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust".

His words were condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said in Parliament: "It is utterly unacceptable to make linkages and use language like that, and I'm determined that the scourge of anti-Semitism is eradicated."

Mr Bridgen apologised at the time, but has continued to be critical of Covid vaccines. He was then dismissed by the party following a recommendation from a disciplinary panel.

Reclaim was founded in October 2020 by actor Laurence Fox, after he appeared on BBC's Question Time earlier that year, which he said led to him "being cancelled from his acting career". The party's main focus is on freedom of speech, which it describes as "fundamental to a free society". It has also been very critical of "woke culture", and argues that all public bodies should have a legal obligation to protect free speech.

The party has pledged to cut taxes and "depoliticise national institutions", such as the police, the Civil Service and the National Trust.

Andrew Bridgen's statement reads as follows: "There has been much speculation following my suspension and subsequent expulsion from the Conservative Party as to my next move.

"Despite having a right to an appeal and strong grounds to pursue one, I have decided not to do so.

"This is because I have lost faith in the Conservative Party and the impartiality of its disciplinary procedures.

"Even if I were to be given a fair hearing, which I doubt, I would not wish to rejoin the party after the treatment received by myself and my family over the past few years.

"I feel now that the party no longer represents the people of this great country.

"If I am to represent my constituents and countrymen it must be from outside the party which I have served dutifully for many decades.

"This has not been an easy decision, and I am saddened that I have been left with no other choice. The culture in Parliament has become toxic, and the main parties have become monolithic and scared; they have abdicated duty and abandoned the public.

"I feel now that there is no other way to resolve this impasse but to create a genuine electoral alternative.

"The opposition is no longer an opposition, and a vacuum has formed for real opposition to take its place. For those reasons amongst others, I have taken the decision to defect.

"I will be standing again in North West Leicestershire at the next election. Not as a Conservative, but as a member of the Reclaim Party.

"More than anything, the Reclaim Party stands for freedom of speech. It is essential that Members of Parliament are able to voice the concerns of their constituents. And I will continue to do that.

"I will cross the floor today, Wednesday, May 10, and sit on the opposition benches as a the first Member of Parliament for the Reclaim Party.

"I say first because I have no doubt I will not be the last. This is just the beginning.

"If the Conservative Party wish to contest my seat they can do so at the next General Election. I have more confidence that I will win my seat than the vast majority of sitting Conservative MPs, so I welcome the challenge should the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Party wish to take it."