Lord Sugar Quits 'Anti-Enterprise' Labour

Lord Sugar has announced he has quit the Labour party because of its "negative business policies and the general anti-enterprise concepts".

The Apprentice star said he had lost confidence in the party over the last year and that it had been "aware of my disillusionment for some time".

Lord Sugar said he informed the party of his decision on Friday and kept his intentions quiet during the election campaign rather than use them to "possibly damage" Labour's election chances.

He was appointed a peer by the previous Labour administration in 2009, but attacked the vision outlined during Ed Miliband's tenure.

In a statement, Lord Sugar said: "In the past year I found myself losing confidence in the party due to their negative business policies and the general anti-enterprise concepts they were considering if they were to be elected.

"I expressed this to the most senior figures in the party several times."

He continued: "I was originally brought into the party by Gordon Brown during an era where true enterprise was being supported by the party.

"I signed on to New Labour in 1997 but more recently, particularly in relation to business, I sensed a policy shift moving back towards what Old Labour stood for.

"By the start of this year, I had made my decision to resign from the party whatever the outcome of the General Election.

"However, I am a loyal person and rather than use my decision to possibly damage the party's chances in the election, I decided, as a relatively high-profile individual, to keep my intentions quiet for the duration of the campaign."

During his maiden speech in the Lords, the businessman made reference to his successful BBC show The Apprentice.

He faced criticism after being appointed an "enterprise champion" by Mr Brown's government, but told peers in 2009: "I am the new boy on the block. In your Lordships' House I am certainly the apprentice."

Mr Miliband, who stood down as party leader after the election, was pictured arriving for a holiday in Ibiza as Lord Sugar made his announcement.