Catherine Finnecy, a councillor in Essex’s Chelmsford, heckled the Lib Dem leader as she defended her decision to accept Tory defector Phillip Lee. Ms Finnecy shouted down Ms Swinson and accused her of supporting “Ukip policy” in reference to when Mr Lee tabled an amendment to the Immigration Bill in 2014 which would have seen immigrations tested for HIV before they are granted permission to enter the country.

The Bracknell MP’s decision to defect to the Lib Dems not only robbed Prime Minister Boris Johnson of his Commons majority – but it sparked outrage among the ranks of the Liberal Democrat party.

Members of the Lib Dems erupted with fury over Mr Lee’s voting record including against same-sex marriage and a campaign against people with HIV being allowed to come to the UK.

Speaking after the party’s Bournemouth conference on Sunday, Ms Finnecy said her party leader’s decision to allow Mr Lee in to the party was a “massive f*** up”.

She said: “She stood up there defending a Ukip policy and claimed it was liberal.

“That is against all the advice from the relevant NGOs, including the Terence Higgins Trust (HIV charity).

“Jo and Alistair Carmichael have been defending it to everyone but it is highly offensive.”

Several senior LGBT figures have turned their back on their own party over Mr Lee’s defection, including member Zoe O’Connell, chair of the party’s LGBT + Liberal Democrats group, Jennie Rigg and member of the executive, Sarah Brown. 

However, Ms Swinson sought to reassure members when she was quizzed over the vetting of new members saying defectors “shared our liberal values”.

She said: “I am confident that all of those people who have joined our party in Parliament do share our liberal values.

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“They might not share our views on every single issue but around this hall, we don’t share views on every single issue.”

But Ms Finnecy hit back, telling BuzzFeed: “They’re lying about doing due diligence, they didn’t consult properly with the LGBT+ community and they failed to address this head-on, so now they’re just trying to sideline the issue.

“It’s just so offensive to hear that kind of policy defended in the name of liberalism, it really is extremely hurtful.”

Speaking about Mr Lee, she added: “This was an egotistic move and a massive f*** up.

“This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many of us in the LGBT community. We don’t feel listened to.”

Over the last few months, the party has seen an upswell in support over its clear anti-Brexit stance.

During the summer, the pro-Remain party also performed well in both the European and local council elections.

Such was there growing influence, that the party managed to secure former Labour MP Chuka Umunna.

More recently, the party also obtained Sarah Wollaston and Luciana Berger.

Adding newly elected MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, Jane Dodds, and the party has secured five MPs in recent weeks.

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