The Independent Group will stand candidates in the European elections having applied to register as an official political party under a new name - Change UK.

Heidi Allen, the MP for South Cambridgeshire, has been appointed to become Interim Leader of the new party for the purposes of Electoral Commission (EC) registration until the election of a permanent leader at an inaugural conference in September, when the main launch of the new party will take place.

She and 10 other breakaway former Labour and Conservative MPs resigned from their parties in February over Brexit negotiations.

One of those was Anna Soubry, who appeared to accidentally declare that she was part of the "Change.org" party, which is a petition website.

As a result, the site's officials are seeking legal action. A source told The Telegraph the name was more than a slip of the tongue, insisting it was deliberate ploy by the group.

A spokesman said: "Change.org UK or UKChange is a movement of 17 million people in the UK. We empower ordinary people to start petitions and campaign to create the change they want to see.

"Our petition starters, like Laura Coryton who ended the tampon tax and Richard Ratcliffe who is fighting for the freedom of his wife Nazanin, are disrupting the status quo of power in politics. "Change.org UK or UKChange as we are interchangeably known is totally independent of party politics, always has been and always will be.