Labour members defect to Lib Dems over Middle East

10.26.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 1st Sep 2006

37 Labour party members in Margaret Beckett's Derby South constituency have defected to the Lib Dems over her handling of the Middle East crisis.

The Chair of one of Derby Labour party's branches, Mohammed Rawail Peeno cited the Foreign Secretary's refusal to back a ceasefire and allignment with George Bush as the breaking point.

Explaining his move he said: "New Labour have abandoned the beliefs that led me and thousands of others to join Labour in the first place."

Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat Leader Menzies Campbell MP said:

"The government's position on the Middle East and Iraq shows just how out of touch it is with many in its party and the majority of the general public."

To find out more about Lib Dem foreign policy go to: www.libdems.org.uk/internationalaffairs