Richard Tice has said a Reform UK MP convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend 18 years ago will not be suspended and would pass the party’s new vetting process.

The deputy leader said James McMurdock was someone who had “got things wrong, learnt from it and has grown and succeeded”.

The former investment banker did not publicly disclose his conviction for assault before being elected, and claimed he had “pushed” his partner when details were first disclosed this summer.

However, The Times later obtained information about his sentencing from the courts, which said he was detained for 21 days in a young offender institution for kicking the victim “around four times” in 2006 when he was a teenager.

‘We all make mistakes’: Richard Tice defends Reform MP who assaulted ex-girlfriend as he rules out suspension, LBC