Tory MP’s chief of staff ‘raped woman in Commons office’
She was ‘held hostage after drinks in Parliament’
A TORY MP’s chief of staff held a woman ‘like a hostage’ and raped her in his boss’s Commons office after calling her a ‘ bitch’, a court heard yesterday.
Samuel Armstrong, 24, is accused of pouncing on the young Parliamentary worker after she fell asleep following a night drinking in the Houses of Parliament.
The senior aide to Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay is said to have had a ‘sense of entitlement’ and ‘abused his position’ by raping the sleeping woman on his boss’s office sofa.
The woman told detectives the assault was ‘incredibly painful’ and Armstrong allegedly grabbed her hair and raped her for a second time.
The alleged victim, who is in her 20s, was seen on CCTV ‘in distress’ as she ran through the corridors of Westminster at 2am. She found a cleaner, and sobbed as she clung to him begging for help, jurors were told.
Armstrong, who had worked for South Thanet MP Mr Mackinlay since his election in 2015, spent the evening drinking with the woman and colleagues at the Sports and Social Bar on october 13 last year, Southwark Crown Court heard.
The pair, who were described as ‘quite good friends’, then went to the roof garden terrace to see Big Ben chime at 10pm before continuing drinking wine in the House of lords office terrace until the others left.
Armstrong is then said to have led the woman arm-in-arm to his boss’s office where he put on jazz music as they chatted in a ‘light-hearted and playful’ mood.
When she fell asleep, Armstrong allegedly ‘took advantage of the situation’ as he pestered her to go back to his flat in Clapham, South london. She said: ‘The next thing I can remember is him with his hand on my left breast and him kissing my mouth and my neck. I didn’t reciprocate at all. He kept saying come back to his flat, and I kept mumbling “no”, and he kept saying it,’ she said. ‘He called me a “bitch” a few times.’
In a police interview last November, she wept as she recalled how Armstrong clambered on top of her. ‘I remember my body just freezing and I had no clue what was going on, as ridiculous as that sounds,’ she said.
Jurors heard that Armstrong was distracted on hearing a wine glass clinking and the woman considered trying to escape. She told detectives: ‘ He turned away. I looked at the door and I was trying to find my phone. I needed to escape, how do I escape? He then turned back his attention towards me. He got up and took his shirt off.’
She told police she felt ‘very vulnerable, just incredibly alone’ as he pulled off her clothing and allegedly sexually assaulted her. ‘I felt like a hostage. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t control my body’, she said.
When she asked Armstrong, ‘What are you doing?’, he is said to have replied: ‘This is what you want.’
Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC told the jury: ‘This is the clearest and simplest possible indication that anyone would need in his position.
‘His reaction was telling, it was one of entitlement. He was not prepared to accept refusal. He became insistent and determined. As he knew perfectly well, he had her at a very distinct disadvantage because of where they were and the time of day.’
The victim said she got dressed and left the office while Armstrong put on his trousers. She added: ‘I started to walk and then I started to run through Westminster. It’s funny, it is one of the most important buildings... and it has no police anywhere. I found a cleaner and held on to his arm and didn’t let go of that poor cleaner’s arm until the police came.’
She was examined a few hours later by a medical officer, who found bruising and injuries to her genitals, arms and mouth which were consistent with rape, but do not prove the allegations. Armstrong sent the woman a flurry of WhatsApp messages asking if she was oK, telling her: ‘I’m concerned. If you have any issues then text me.’
Hours later, when he was arrested, he told police: ‘I deny the allegation of rape and wish to say that any contact between her and I was at all times consensual. I do not wish to say anything further at this point.’
Sarah Forshaw QC, defending, suggested the alleged victim, ‘inhibited by drink’, had found Armstrong attractive and willingly had sex with him.
She claimed the woman had suffered from mental health issues in the past and merely had a panic attack after getting lost.
The woman, giving evidence in court from behind a screen, confirmed she was suffering from mild depression and anxiety at the time of the alleged attack, but she denied making up the allegations.
Armstrong from danbury, Essex, denies two counts of rape, one count of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.
The trial continues.
‘I felt like a hostage’