An MP has been denied access to his former constituency office by the High Court following his defection from the Conservative Party to Reform UK.
Andrew Rosindell, who has represented Romford in east London since 2001, was locked out of the office that he had occupied for over two decades, at Margaret Thatcher House in Romford, after his move in January.
Mr Rosindell initiated legal proceedings against the Romford Conservative Association (RCA), which manages the building.
But he will now have to pay £23,000 towards the RCA’s legal costs, after a judge told him it would have been “obvious to him” that he could not continue to use the office after his defection.
His legal team argued in court on Monday that the association had "taken the law into its own hands" and sought an injunction to grant him "full and unfettered" access to the premises.
They said that monthly payments of approximately £1,250 were made for exclusive use of an office and full access for the MP and his staff.
The lockout, his barrister Adam Richardson said, was "materially impairing" Mr Rosindell’s ability to serve his constituents and deprived him of safety measures, including CCTV and a panic room.
The RCA opposed the application, with its barristers saying that it was "blindingly obvious" Mr Rosindell’s licence to use the premises was contingent on his Conservative Party membership.
They expressed concerns that he could "spy" on their activities in the lead-up to local elections.
Tiffany Scott KC, representing the association, argued there was an "implied term" in the agreement for the licence to "terminate automatically upon Mr Rosindell leaving the Conservative Party".
She added that the premises were "key to the Conservative campaign" for the May elections, making it "damaging to the RCA and the Conservative Party for the MP for a rival political party to have free access to the building".
In his ruling, Mr Justice Choudhury refused the injunction, describing Mr Rosindell’s case as "intrinsically weak".
The judge said that the MP "ought to have realised that he had surrendered his right to occupy" his office.
He added: "It would have been obvious to him from the moment of defecting that continued occupation would be unsustainable."
Mr Justice Choudhury said that the necessity for those using the building to "share a common cause" with the Conservative Party "strikes me as not only necessary … but consistent with common sense".
He also noted a lack of evidence that Mr Rosindell had sought alternative accommodation, a point also raised by Ms Scott, who said Reform "ought also to be supporting him".
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