Lawmaker held on suspicion of rape
— A British lawmaker was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of rape and other sexual assault offenses, according to British news media reports, the latest in a string of sexual misconduct allegations against members of Parliament in recent weeks.
London’s Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed that its officers arrested a man serving in public office over a complaint received two years ago, but did not confirm his name or his occupation.
The arrest follows several incidents of misogyny and allegations of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, and the criminal conviction of a lawmaker, a slew of reports that has renewed long-standing concerns about the culture of the Westminster Parliament.
Speculation about the arrested lawmaker’s identity has swirled in Westminster, but no official statement identifying the suspect has been published. The office of the chief whip of the governing Conservatives, Chris Heaton-Harris, said in a statement that one of the party’s lawmakers, a man, had been asked not to come to Parliament while the investigation continued.
Police said in a state LONDON ment that “a man, aged in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office.” The statement added that an investigation was ongoing.
The authorities received a report in January 2020 “relating to alleged sexual offenses having been committed between 2002 and 2009,” in London, the police statement said.
The man was taken into custody but has since been conditionally released, police said.
Members of Parliament began weighing in on the allegations Wednesday. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News that she was “concerned about the reports” but added, “Clearly this is a matter for the police.”
“It is worrying that we are seeing these appalling accusations again about a parliamentarian,” she said.
The arrest comes on the heels of a number of troubling incidents in Parliament that have shone the spotlight on what appear to be pervasive issues of misogyny and sexual misconduct in the legislature.
The resignation in April of Neil Parish, a Conservative lawmaker who admitted to watching pornography twice while seated among his colleagues on the benches of the House of Commons, brought calls for change.
Last month, The Sunday Times reported that some 56 lawmakers, including three Cabinet ministers and two “shadow” Cabinet ministers from the opposition Labor Party, had been referred to an independent watchdog over sexual misconduct claims.