THE British Labour Party yesterday urged wavering Tory backbenchers to follow their consciences and defect to the opposition benches.
Following media reports that several Tory MPs were considering their future within the party Labour's Chief Whip, Mr Donald Dewar, said Tories should recognise that Labour's "overwhelming" victory in the Staffordshire South-East by-election last week signified the "end of the road for them" and he appealed for any waverers to defect.
"Today I am appealing to Tory MPs with a conscience to leave the government benches and join the opposition. The government has totally lost its way. If even a handful of determined MPs did what conscience dictates it would do much to force the general election the nation needs.".
Three Conservative MPs have defected since October. However, another four pro-European Tory MPs, who were named as possible defectors, dismissed reports of secret meetings with Labour officials as "untrue and media invention
Mr Peter Temple-Morris, the MP for Leominster, said the media had portrayed him and his colleagues as "some sort of rogue's gallery that gets stuck up in a Wild West sheriff's office - the same pictures in newspaper after newspaper.
"I know of none of these dramatic conversations, of negotiations going back for weeks. I know of none of it. As far as I know there will be no more defection this side of the election."
Another rumoured Tory defector, Mr Hugh Dykes, MP for Harrow East, stressed that he was a "lifelong" Conservative. Whilst the third named waverer, Mr Tim Rathbone, who is a former government minister, accused Labour of "trying to stir it" by inventing the stories.
"It's complete fabrication. I don't know where they got the information from, certainly not from me, and I can't believe it came from anybody else who knows me," he said.
After denying the media speculation, another Tory MP Mr Andrew Rowe, attacked the party's right-wingers and urged Mr Major to stick to the centre ground. "I have little doubt the Tory Party will go over the cliff or it will come back to the centre ground where I live," he said.
Tory officials refused to comment publicly on the possibility of further defections, preferring instead to exploit apparent Labour divisions over its policy on tax following comments by the shadow transport secretary, Ms Clare Short, that middle-income earners should pay higher taxes.
The deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, accused Labour of attempting to silence Ms Short because she "blew the gaff" by telling the truth about the party's tax policy.
"Clare Short is being denied the air waves. Labour's high command are saying she is so dangerous she cannot give interviews. This is censorship. If you offend Tony Blair you are silenced.