Cotswold MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has apologised after being asked to leave the Conservative Party conference after police were called to a "totally unacceptable" row.

The Conservative MP was sent home from the event in Manchester after an altercation broke out when he tried to bring his fiancee into the international lounge without the correct pass.

The lounge has restricted access and the spat, which took place at the lounge entrance, resulted in the area being placed on lockdown for around 20 minutes.

He  is understood to have remonstrated with the member of staff, at which point security personnel intervened.

Sir Geoffrey said: “This was a minor verbal misunderstanding. The police have not contacted me at all.

“I am mortified that something so minor seems to have been blown out of all proportion and if anyone has been offended, I apologise unreservedly.

“I will co-operate with the party in any investigation.”

A Conservative party spokesman said: “The incident was totally unacceptable.

"Geoffrey has been asked to leave conference and we are establishing all of the facts to see if further action is necessary.

"We will always adopt a zero tolerance approach to any inappropriate behaviour towards our hardworking staff.”

A staff member guarding the door of the International Lounge said the incident was sparked by a disagreement.

“It was a small misunderstanding,” the man said.

Greater Manchester Police said in statement: “At around 1.45pm on Tuesday 1 October 2019, an attendee to the Conservative Party Conference attempted to enter the International Lounge area of the conference without the relevant pass.

“Security staff intervened and resolved the situation without any breach of security occurring.”