Former Hendon Labour MP Andrew Dismore is agonising over whether or not he can afford to mount a legal challenge to the General Election result that cost him his seat by just 106 votes.

Mr Dismore held a lengthy meeting with his legal representatives on Friday evening and said afterwards: “I would like to mount a challenge. The advice I have been given is that I have a good case if you put together all the things that went wrong with the election. But it is a very costly business.

“I am trying to find funding for it because it could cost a six-figure sum. If it went to a full hearing, I would expect we would spend a couple of weeks in court,” he said.

Mr Dismore must lodge notice of his appeal by Thursday, May 27, if he decides to go head.

“I think it’s pretty clear what went wrong,” he said. “There were problems with postal voting , but most importantly with polling stations throughout the night that deterred people from voting.

“Without giving our whole case, there was a lot of evidence that people left the queues and some were in queues for more than an hour.”

He said he and his supporters had various ideas for fundraising, “but I would rather not go into details now.

“I think it is very unfair that something as important as this, and with a case as strong as this could be barred from going ahead because of finance,” he added.