Prime Minister David Cameron was left furious yesterday after the start of the Conservative conference was overshadowed by a defection and a sex scandal.
Backbench MP Mark Reckless quit the party to join Ukip at the weekend, and just hours later government minister Brooks Newmark resigned after being caught in a sting.
Mr Cameron dismissed the defection of Mr Reckless as “senseless and counter-productive”, but Tory divisions over Europe emerged again.
The MP for Rochester and Strood had followed Douglas Carswell, the Clacton MP, in defecting to Ukip at the party’s conference in Doncaster.
Mr Cameron said he had “not specifically” been aware of Mr Reckless’s intentions but “he very rarely votes for the government and has made his views known”.
Meanwhile, Mr Newmark – the minister for civil society – allegedly exchanged X-rated pictures over the internet with a reporter posing as a Tory PR girl.
The 56-year-old married father-of-five tendered his resignation after learning that the newspaper was about to publish details of their exchanges.
“I have decided to resign as minister for civil society, having been notified of a story to be published in a Sunday newspaper,” he said in a statement.
” I would like to appeal for the privacy of my family to be respected at this time.”
Mr Cameron acknowledged the twin setbacks had distracted attention from an announcement by Chancellor George Osborne of plans for a new squeeze on benefits to fund millions of new apprenticeships.
He said: “I have to admit, it’s not been an ideal start – I’m prepared to say that. But the truth is, these things, frustrating as they are, they don’t change the fundamental choice at the election.”