Suspended MP says party has ‘no choice’ but to take him back
SUSPENDED MP Simon Danczuk says Labour ‘have no choice’ but to accept him back into the party in the new year.
The Rochdale MP was suspended from the party a year ago today (Saturday) amid claims he sent lewd texts to a teenage girl.
It came following a front page story in The Sun alleging he had ‘sexted’ 17-year-old Sophena Houlihan. But Labour’s internal investigation was put on hold just days later when Lancashire police began investigating historic allegations of rape, dating back to 2006, made against Mr Danczuk.
However in October the Crown Prosecution Service said that no further action should be taken against Mr Danczuk because of ‘insufficient evidence’.
That meant the Labour Party could start the process of investigating the initial ‘sexting’ allegations. Mr Danczuk says he has recently met with party officials and a disputes panel of the national executive committee are due to meet next month to discuss his case.
And he claims the reason his suspension has lasted so long is because he has been a prominent critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He said: “I think once they see the evidence they will have no choice but to accept me back into the party. I’ve met with chief whip Nick Brown and he says there’s no case to answer. There’s a formal process, but the reality is that it’s taken so long because I have been a vocal critic of the leadership.”
Mr Danczuk said he feared that Mr Corbyn and other senior figures in the party would use the controversy as a reason to expel him - and compared his case to that of MP Keith Vaz, who was accused by the Daily Mirror of paying male prostitutes for sex and offering to buy them drugs while he was chair of the influential Commons Home Affairs Committee, but wasn’t suspended by Labour.
Mr Danczuk added: “Just compare my position to that of Keith Vaz.
“We are friends and I’m very supportive of him, but if you take a moral view what he has done is far worse.
“He hasn’t been reprimanded in the way I have.
“You can’t have double standards like that.
“The reality is that this is a tabloid sting and there was no public interest in publishing. But the local party have been exceptionally supportive and I’m still working with councillors and members.
“It’s been humbling that local people have been constantly supportive and sympathetic and I owe them a debt of gratitude.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed their investigation into allegations that Mr Danczuk received thousands of pounds in expenses for his children to stay at his London flat is ongoing. In March he agreed to repay more than £11,000 in expenses after saying he made an error in claiming extra accommodation costs for two children who did not ‘routinely’ live with him.
The Labour Party were contacted for a comment.