Tory MP in Scotland Yard Custody Over Allegations of Rape & Sexual Assault Spanning 7-Year Period
04:59 GMT 18.05.2022 (Updated: 15:19 GMT 28.05.2023)
© HENRY NICHOLLS
Subscribe
From Downing Street parties during COVID-19 lockdown through sleaze allegations linked to Owen Paterson’s lobbying to ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock's affair with an aide and, more recently, former Tory MP, Neil Parish, caught watching porn in Parliament, the UK Conservative Party has had more than its fair share of embarrassing scandals.
A Tory MP has been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office allegedly perpetrated throughout a period of seven years.
"In January 2020, the Met received a report relating to alleged sexual offences having been committed between 2002 and 2009. The offences are alleged to have occurred in London," revealed Met Police in a published statement.
Scotland Yard confirmed that the unnamed man in his fifties has been arrested and remains in custody while the investigation continues.
The serving MP will not be appearing in Parliament while officers from Central Specialist Crime continue their inquiry into the allegations.
"The Chief Whip has asked that the MP concerned does not attend the parliamentary estate while an investigation is ongoing. Until the conclusion of the investigation we will not be commenting further," said a spokesman from the Government Whips' Office.
It was also reported that the Tory party will not make a decision on whether to suspend the whip from the suspect until the police investigation has concluded.
The Tory party has been battling a plethora of scandals throughout the past months. Besides the “partygate” row - where the Metropolitan Police are investigating alleged lockdown-defying parties held at No 10 Downing Street in 2020 and 2021 when strict COVID-19 restrictions were in place - there are a number of MPs who at present are believed to be facing serious allegations.
According to a report by The Sunday Times in April, 56 MPs have been accused of everything ranging from sexually inappropriate comments to more serious wrongdoings.
15 April 2022, 12:36 GMT
Just recently, the Conservative former MP for Wakefield, Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan, since expelled from the party, was found guilty of molesting a 15-year-old boy while advising the Government on child sexual exploitation.
Khan had attended online meetings with the panel of experts on the sensitive issue in July, September and November of 2020, despite Staffordshire police revealing he had given a written statement under caution in May 2020 concerning claims of assaulting a minor.
David Warburton had the whip withdrawn after allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use surfaced.
This incident, along with less serious infractions such as that of Neil Parish - a former Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton, who resigned after admitting he watched pornography twice in the House of Commons - have raised questions about the party.
Last month, at Prime Minister's Questions, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that sexual misconduct would be "grounds for dismissal" for ministers.
Voluntary agreements to stay away from Parliament do not work.
— Prospect Union (@ProspectUnion) May 17, 2022
Parliament has the same responsibilities towards its staff as any other workplace and it must live up to them.
Full statement from @Garry_Graham1 ⬇️https://t.co/jVv1jS2Z6E
The Prospect trade union, which represents engineers, managers, scientists and other specialists in both the public and private sectors, including hundreds of staff working in the Houses of Parliament, said firmer action is required to tackle the issue.
"What will it take for Parliament finally to take its responsibility to its staff and visitors seriously and suspend access to the estate for parliamentarians under investigation for sexual offences?" deputy general-secretary of the union, Garry Graham, asked in a statement.
