Anna Soubry has reported her Conservative Association chairman to CCHQ, accusing him of plotting to oust her in order to replace her as the MP for Broxtowe. In a letter sent to her association executive and local Tory councillors, Soubry accuses John Doddy, who himself is a Remainer, of exploiting her views on Brexit to “further your own ambitions to oust me”. She says Doddy has exaggerated the extent of discontent with her among Broxtowe Tories, noting that only one of 17 critical emails sent to the association came from a constituent, and they were not a Tory party member. Soubry says the email campaign against her is “part of a concerted co-ordinated campaign organised by UKIP / Leave.EU” and implies Doddy is in league with a “UKIP infiltrator”. Here is her letter outlining her case against Doddy and her complaint to Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis and CCHQ head of candidates Gareth Fox:

Doddy obviously does harbour ambitions to replace Soubry. His claim that 80% of local members are unhappy with Soubs is bold. There is clearly discontent among some Broxtowe Tories with their MP’s opposition to Brexit and talk of a new party. We will find out how deep that discontent is next month…