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| Nadine Dorries MP faces I'm a Celebrity criticism | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Tory MP Nadine Dorries is under fire over her decision to join ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. | |
| Ms Dorries, who represents Mid Bedfordshire, will be the first MP to take part in the show. | |
| But she could be in Australia, where it is filmed, for up to month, potentially missing important Commons votes. | |
| Giving her reaction, Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Frankly, I think an MP's job is in their constituency and in the House of Commons." | |
| But Prime Minister David Cameron - who has publicly clashed with Ms Dorries in the past - refused to be drawn into the row, saying: "Nadine Dorries can speak for herself on this issue." | |
| 'Posh boys' | |
| The line-up of those taking part in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here has yet to be officially announced. | |
| However, the Daily Mail reported that Ms Dorries had already arrived in Queensland, Australia for the programme. | |
| She told the newspaper she was taking part in order to raise awareness of issues she is interested in, such as reducing the time limit on abortions from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. | She told the newspaper she was taking part in order to raise awareness of issues she is interested in, such as reducing the time limit on abortions from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. |
| "I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it. Rather than MPs talking to other MPs about issues in Parliament, I think MPs should be going to where people go. | "I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it. Rather than MPs talking to other MPs about issues in Parliament, I think MPs should be going to where people go. |
| "I'm not going in there to upset people, but I have opinions. There are certain causes that I'm interested in, one of which is '20 Weeks'. | "I'm not going in there to upset people, but I have opinions. There are certain causes that I'm interested in, one of which is '20 Weeks'. |
| "I will be talking about this issue around the campfire. I hope there will be some lively, heated debates." | "I will be talking about this issue around the campfire. I hope there will be some lively, heated debates." |
| Theresa May told ITV's This Morning programme it was up to individual MPs "to decide how they're going to do their job and it's up to Nadine to decide how she wants to do her job" - but she added that an MP's job was in their constituency and the House of Commons. | |
| Relations between No 10 and Ms Dorries, a former nurse, have been strained since the prime minister made a joke at her expense in the Commons, describing her as "frustrated". He subsequently apologised. | |
| Ms Dorries grabbed headlines by describing Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne as "two arrogant posh boys" who were out of touch with the real world. | |
| 'Z-list celebrity' | |
| Former Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik, who took part in I'm a Celebrity in 2010 after losing his seat, tweeted his support for Ms Dorries: "Good on Nadine Dorries for the jungle if she's really going in. Go gal!" | |
| But former Tory MP Louise Mensch, who recently resigned from the Commons for family reasons and who has had a well-publicised spat with Ms Dorries over her decision, tweeted: "Nothing sadder than a politician, or ex-politician, on any of those shows. | |
| "Just imagining the scene in the whips' office if I said I wanted to skip Parliament for weeks to go on a celebrity TV show." | "Just imagining the scene in the whips' office if I said I wanted to skip Parliament for weeks to go on a celebrity TV show." |
| In February 2010, Ms Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs moved in with benefit claimants on a deprived council estate. | |
| The Taxpayers' Alliance, which lobbies for lower taxes and greater government efficiency, said: "While she is being a Z-list celebrity, her constituents will be without an MP." | The Taxpayers' Alliance, which lobbies for lower taxes and greater government efficiency, said: "While she is being a Z-list celebrity, her constituents will be without an MP." |
| Defending herself against a backlash, Ms Dorries told the Daily Mail: "I've worked seven years as an MP and I've never taken a day off work in Parliamentary time. I've worked all through recess and I only had four days off this summer. | Defending herself against a backlash, Ms Dorries told the Daily Mail: "I've worked seven years as an MP and I've never taken a day off work in Parliamentary time. I've worked all through recess and I only had four days off this summer. |
| "Parliament is in half-term while I'm there. I've not done anything to prepare for the jungle. I worked right up until I left the UK for Australia." | "Parliament is in half-term while I'm there. I've not done anything to prepare for the jungle. I worked right up until I left the UK for Australia." |
| George Galloway, the only other sitting MP to have taken part in a reality game show, when he spent three weeks on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, also faced criticism that he was neglecting his constituents. | |
| He said he wanted to raise the profile of his fledgling Respect Party but later claimed many of his political statements had been edited out. |