Nadine Dorries: Being on 'I'm a Celebrity' is no different from taking an official ministerial trip

Suspended MP Nadine Dorries has defended her appearance on ITV reality show by comparing her stint in the jungle to ministerial business.

The MP for Mid Bedfordshire, whose decision to star in I'm a Celebrity has garnered backlash from the public and politicians alike, has also said she will use her time in Australia to promote Boris Johnson for Prime Minister.

Dorries feels her trip to the remote jungle, where she will be stuck without communication to her family, constituents or work, falls under the jurisdiction of parliamentary business.

The outspoken politician said her trip was no different from her colleague MP Alistair Burt, who is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

She said: "Alistair Burt is a very hard-working constituency MP, but in his ministerial role he has had 20 weeks abroad this year.

"Most MPs take parliamentary trips during the year and in seven years I have never taken one.

"Being a minister and an MP is two jobs and he does them both very well. But do they say when he is in Qatar for weeks that he is neglecting his constituency?"

Today, the Prime Minister said withdrawing the whip from Dorries was the "right" decision and he expects Dorries to explain her actions on her return.

The 55 year old has been suspended from the Conservative Party and was the butt of jokes during Wednesday's Prime Minister's Question Time.

However, Foreign Secretary William Hague was not as critical as his fellow MPs.

He said: "It's a decision for her, I'm dealing with things all over the world, we're concerned with the war in Afghanistan, the situation in Syria. So these things seem quite minor from that perspective."

The reality star will also use the programme to talk about reducing the abortion limit from 24 weeks to 20, an opinion that courted controversy in the House of Commons.

Today, pictures have emerged of Dorries sunbathing topless in Australia.

A formal complaint has been made to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner about her appearance which will earn her £40,000.