Tory MP held on suspicion of rape

Conservative politician arrested over string of alleged offences spanning seven years

A CONSERVATIVE MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape and a string of other sexual offences spanning seven years.

The politician was being questioned by Metropolitan Police officers yesterday after being accused of rape, indecent assault, sexual assault, abuse of a position of trust and misconduct in a public office. Police visited his office on the parliamentary estate, but the arrest took place elsewhere.

Chris Heaton-harris, the Chief Whip, has asked the MP, who is in his 50s, to stay away from Westminster while police investigate the allegations. But he will retain the Tory whip and be allowed to take part in debates.

The Conservative Party was last night under pressure to name the MP to prevent other politicians falling under suspicion, and a union boss said he should be formally barred from Parliament while the claims were investigated.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrest was the result of a two-year investigation by the Met’s central specialist crime unit, following a report it received in January 2020.

The alleged offences were committed between 2002 and 2009 in London. It is the latest in a series of allegations of sexual misconduct that have largely involved Conservative MPS.

David Warburton, the Tory MP for Somerton and Frome, was suspended from the party last month pending an investigation into claims of sexual harrassment and cocaine use. Mr Warburton has denied any wrongdoing. And Imran Ahmad Khan, the MP for Wakefield, resigned after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

Neil Parish, a Conservative who represented Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, also triggered a by-election when he resigned after admitting last month he had watched pornography in the House of Commons. Dozens of MPS are thought to have been referred to the parliamentary authorities for alleged misconduct of varying natures and around 15 are under investigation by the independent complaints and grievance scheme, a body that deals with sexual misconduct and bullying claims.

The MP who was arrested yesterday has not yet been named by the police or the Conservative Party.

All alleged victims of sexual crimes have automatic anonymity in the UK from the moment their claim is reported.

A whips’ office spokesman said: “The Chief Whip has asked that the MP concerned does not attend the parliamentary estate while an investigation is ongoing. Until the conclusion of the investigation we will not be commenting further.”

The Tories’ decision not to name the MP is likely to prompt fears that other men could wrongly fall under suspicion. A senior backbencher said the party should issue a denial if other MPS are wrongly named as the suspect. Before Mr Parish was revealed as the “porn MP”, other men were named in Westminster as potential perpetrators.

“What happened with Neil is that names flew around,” the colleague said last night. “There should be a categorical denial of the other names.”

Yesterday’s arrest, first reported by The Sun, follows the arrest for rape of another Conservative MP in 2020. He was never identified and police took no further action over the allegation.

Garry Graham, of the Prospect Union, which represents parliamentary staff, last night asked: “What will it take for Parliament to finally take its responsibility to its staff and visitors seriously and suspend access to the estate for parliamentarians under investigation for sexual offences?”

Convention dictates that MPS can be asked not to come to work but not barred.