Love cheat MP defects back from Lib-Dems

A Labour MP who defected to the Liberal Democrats is to quit Charles Kennedy's party.

Paul Marsden left Labour in 2001 in protest at the war in Afghanistan. At the time, he said he was sick of being bullied by party whips, dubbing Tony Blair "lousy and arrogant" and his Labour colleagues "thugs".

But today Mr Marsden announced he was applying to rejoin Labour - claiming he was worried about his former colleagues losing their seats.

The announcement was greeted with derision at Westminster, where Mr Marsden has enjoyed a colourful career.

The MP for Shrewsbury was embroiled in a sex scandal two years ago. His wife Shelly has stood by him despite his admission that he had drunken flings with his 24- year- old researcher, Fiona Pinto, as well as an affair with a journalist.

Mr Marsden even took to boasting about his sex life in poems on his official website.

When he left Labour, he claimed the party had failed to deliver on schools, hospitals and pensions.

But today he claimed he "could not stand back" and allow good Labour MPs to lose their seats to Tories in the general election.

He said: "People assume there is going to be a Labour government; that Tony Blair is going to have a working majority. That is very dangerous. We have to get out the Labour vote."

Mr Marsden's move will be an embarrassment to Mr Kennedy, who yesterday welcomed the defection of Stephen Wilkinson, who had been the Labour parliamentary candidate in Ribble Valley, to the Liberal Democrats. Party chiefs tried to shrug it off today - pointing out that Mr Marsden was due to stand down as an MP. The debacle threatened to overshadow the unveiling of the party's mini manifesto for families.

In a statement, Mr Marsden said: "I am urging voters to come out on 5 May and back their Labour MPs and return a Labour government."

Last November Mr Marsden vowed to continue working despite discovering he had a bone tumour in his right shoulder.

He dismissed suggestions that his message would lack credibility because of his shift between parties-Today the Labour Party indicated that it would accept Mr Marsden back into the fold.

Charles Kennedy kicked off his first day's campaigning today with a mini-manifesto for families that promised more cash for mothers on low incomes.

It pledged a minimum income of ?170 a week for new mothers who are already on welfare during the first six months after the birth of a child. Home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said the cash would help hard-pressed families stay together in the "critical" early years of a child's life.

He said successful families meant lower crime rates and stronger communities.