Tory MP denies allegations of ‘touching’ men in Commons bar

Ross Thomson has referred himself to his party’s disciplinary panel

A Scottish Tory MP accused of “touching” men in a Westminster bar has insisted the allegations are “completely false”.

Ross Thomson added that in the “interests of openness and transparency” he had referred himself to an internal Conservative disciplinary panel to examine the claims.

The Metropolitan Police were called out to the Strangers Bar in Westminster at about 11pm on Tuesday, after reports of an incident.

Officers confirmed they spoke to three men about allegations of “sexual touching”.

Mr Thomson, who was elected as the MP for Aberdeen South in 2017, was allegedly escorted out of the bar by police, although officers indicated that no formal charges or arrests were made.

Yesterday, Mr Thomson tweeted that he would refer himself to the party’s disciplinary panel of the code of conduct.

He wrote: “A series of serious allegations have been made against me that have featured in the media.

“I would like to state that these allegations from anonymous sources are false. No complaint has been made to the police, parliament or the Conservative Party.

“Nevertheless, in the interests of openness and transparency, I am referring myself to the Conservative Party’s disciplinary panel of the code of conduct.

“This has been a deeply distressing time for me and my family but I intend to be back at work on Monday.”

The Conservative Party this week said it would investigate the allegations made against Mr Thomson.

The Scottish Conservatives deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said on Thursday that the MP’s alleged behaviour had fallen well below the standards expected of an elected representative.

“No complaint has been made to the police ... ROSS THOMSON MP