A senior member of the UK Independence Party has said she is to defect from the party to join the Conservatives.
Marta Andreasen sent her resignation letter to UKIP leader Nigel Farage earlier on Friday.
It comes two weeks after she accused the UKIP leader of bullying and being "anti-women" and "a Stalinist" and threatened to leave the party.
At the time, Mr Farage responded to the criticism by describing Ms Andreasen's comments as "laughable nonsense".
Marta Andreasen said resigning from UKIP to join the Conservatives was not a decision that she took lightly.
In an open letter expressing her dissatisfaction with UKIP, she accused Mr Farage of treating any views other than his own with contempt.
Responding to news of the defection, Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps said he was "delighted" to welcome her to his party.
"She brings a wealth of experience - and a dedication to fight for what's best for the British people in Europe," he said.
Relations between Ms Andreasen and Mr Farage had been strained for some time, with Ms Andreasen calling for Mr Farage to quit after the party's poor performance in council elections in 2011.
Since then, UKIP's fortunes have improved and it recorded its best performance in a parliamentary by-election in Rotherham in December.
Ms Andreasen worked for the European Commission before joining UKIP and being elected in 2009.
She had been UKIP's sole remaining female MEP, after Nikki Sinclaire was expelled from the party in 2010.
Ms Sinclaire later brought a sexual discrimination case against the party which was subsequently dropped.
At the time, UKIP issued a statement affirming its "opposition to discrimination on all grounds as prescribed by law and otherwise" and stressed that sexuality was "no bar to involvement or advancement" within the party.
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