Change UK forced to change name for third time after legal dispute

Breakaway political group Change UK has announced it will change its name for a third time following a dispute.

The beleaguered party, originally known as The Independent Group, will write to the elections watchdog asking to be renamed The Independent Group for Change.

It has been challenged over the similarity of its new moniker to the Change.org petition site.

A statement set out how lawyers from Change.org disputed the group's right to register as "Change UK" with the Electoral Commission ahead of the European elections.

They explained how "under threat of legal action" by Change.org, which could have seen "each MP being sued personally" and with no time left to register a new party name, Change UK "felt we had no option but to sign a legal agreement" to ditch the name following the election.

They added: "We are now legally obliged to make a formal application to the Electoral Commission, to amend our name by 15th June, so today we are applying to register ourselves as 'The Independent Group for Change' and will await the Electoral Commission's decision.

"We remain determined as a party to tackle the big issues facing the country.

"Preventing a disastrous no deal Brexit and fixing Britain's broken politics remain our absolute focus as we begin to build our new policy platform."

The reaction from journalists was incredulous, with Buzzfeed's Alex Wickham tweeting "There are no words".

The Independent Group was launched on February 18 this year by seven MPs who had quit Labour and four more, including three Tories, who quickly became known as the Tiggers.

In April, the group's registration with the Electoral Commission as a political party named Change UK was accepted, although its logo was rejected, in part for the inclusion of a hashtag.

The European results proved disappointing for the anti-Brexit group and six of its 11 MPs left the party at the start of this month, including interim leader Heidi Allen and group spokesman Chuka Umunna.

Additional reporting by Press Association.