Embattled MP ‘held for fraud after raid at his office’

MP Jared O’Mara was arrested on suspicion of fraud after officers raided his constituency office, it is claimed.

The independent MP for Sheffield Hallam was allegedly arrested at the same time as his chief of staff Gareth Arnold.

Electronic equipment was confiscated in the inquiry by South Yorkshire Police and the pair were released last Saturday pending further inquiries, the BBC’s Next Episode podcast claimed.

Mr O’Mara has not responded to requests for comment while Mr Arnold said he had ‘no comment’.

The MP ousted Nick Clegg from the seat in the 2017. In April, the politician closed his constituency office for a month.

There were reports that all his staff were either sacked or walked out and he stopped holding surgeries or responding to correspondence.

In an investigation, the BBC found that staff were running the MP’s office without the proper security clearance required by Parliamentary authorities.

Mr Arnold contacted police in early July to express concerns about Parliamentary expense claims made by Mr O’Mara, pictured, the Mirror reported.

In the same month, Mr Arnold also appeared to publicly resign on Twitter, calling his boss ‘the most disgustingly morally bankrupt person I have ever had the displeasure of working with’.

He added: ‘You do not care about your constituents. You do not care about anyone but yourself.’

A 20-year-old woman also accused the politician, 37, of sexual harassment.

Mr O’Mara then said he was ‘taking time out for mental health treatment’, adding: ‘I will be tendering my resignation via the official Parliamentary process as soon as term restarts.’

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority said it was a ‘matter for the police’. But Sinead Parkinson, from Hallam Constituents Facebook group, said: ‘We are pleased that an investigation is under way but we are still a constituency unrepresented and action needs to be taken to correct that.’

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: ‘We neither confirm nor deny the identity of someone who is or is not the subject of investigation.’