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In the words of opposition MP Iryna Gerashchenko "territorial integrity and sovereignty is a red line for Ukraine and Ukrainians".

The attention thrust on the Cheshire constituency of Runcorn and Helsby is a sign of the high stakes in this by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of the former Labour MP Mike Amesbury.

In recent weeks, details of physical and sex abuse perpetrated over decades at Bétharram in the Pyrenees have drawn increasing attention to Bayrou, who was local MP and education minister at the time.

The school also lies within the constituency Bayrou represented as MP from the 1980s to the 2010s.

For example, last year, the justices ruled that the speaker's decision to declare four MP's seats vacant was unconstitutional.