The Mail on Sunday

Plea to end ‘torment’ of MP in rape claim

- By Brendan Carlin and James Heale

FRIENDS of the Tory MP arrested on suspicion of raping a Commons researcher are urging police to ‘ end his torment’ and conclude their inquiries.

They say that more than four months on from his arrest, the exMinister should now be told whether the case will be dropped or whether he could still face charges.

One said: ‘ Surely t he police will have reached a conclusion by now and can reveal the result of their inquiry?’

But the calls have sparked a fierce riposte from friends of his accuser, who insisted police were ‘still investigat­ing’ and his allies ‘shouldn’t be trying to interfere’ with that task.

The Mail on Sunday revealed in August how the politician – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault against a young Commons researcher. The woman, who also cannot be identified, said she was assaulted four t i mes between July 2019 and January this year, including claims of a rape necessitat­ing hospital treatment.

After his arrest in August, the MP was released on police bail which was eventually lifted in mid-October although police insisted that he remained under investigat­ion for assault, sexual assault and rape.

Those investigat­ions have included taking evidence from Tory Chief Whip Mark Spencer, who is understood to have met the complainan­t before she went to the police but did not take the allegation­s further, partly as he did not believe there was any mention of a sexual assault.

However, allies of the MP – who they say has insisted he is innocent – say that he now deserves to know the outcome of the Metropolit­an Police inquiry.

One said: ‘The police must have all the time they need and it was entirely right that these allegation­s were thoroughly investigat­ed.

‘But surely now, he and his constituen­ts deserve to know the outcome of the investigat­ion?’

The man’s arrest led to fierce criticisms of the Conservati­ve Party for not suspending the MP, with Labour MP Jess Phillips – her party’s spokesman on domestic violence – insisting a teacher in those circumstan­ces would have been suspended from their job. Chief Whip Mr Spencer has insisted that suspending him would effectivel­y lead to him being named.

There were also calls from parliament­ary staff and trade unions for the MP to be barred from the Commons even after his bail was lifted in October. However, it is understood that the politician is still voluntaril­y agreeing not to come to Westminste­r for the time being.

Last night, Mrs Phillips insisted it was wrong to attempt to hurry up the police probe. She said: ‘The police should be left to do the important work they have to do without interrupti­on, fear or favour.’

In a statement, the Metropolit­an Poli ce i nsi s t ed t hat t he man remained ‘under investigat­ion’.

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