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Rape-arrest Tory MP’s accuser ‘is a male politician who was a teenager when the pair first met’: Pressure grows on party to name the suspect

  • MP in his 50s, who has been released on bail, was told to not go to the Commons
  • The politician can still meet constituents, vote on laws and attend parliament
  • Labour called for man to be named and said he should have the whip removed

Pressure is growing on the Conservative Party to name an MP who has been accused of rape ‘by a male politician’, reports say. 

The storm over the Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape was growing last night after the man in his fifties, who has been released on bail, was told to keep away from the Commons by party whips – but faces no formal sanction. 

It means the unidentified politician can still have meetings with constituents, vote on laws and attend parliament. 

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Yesterday, MPs were warned by the Commons Speaker not to name the suspect under rules that excuse remarks in the Commons from potential libel actions. 

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: ‘While the investigation is ongoing, I believe that it would be wholly inappropriate for any further reference to be made to it in the house, including any attempt to name the member concerned.’ 

The alleged offences are said to have occurred between 2002 and 2009, and The Telegraph reports that it is understood the accused MP first met the alleged victim when the latter was a teenager. 

Labour called for the man to be named and said he should have the whip removed, meaning he would no longer sit as a Tory MP. 

The man in his fifties, who has been released on bail, is being told to keep away from the Commons (pictured the chamber on Wednesday packed during PMQs) by party whips but faces no formal sanction

The man in his fifties, who has been released on bail, is being told to keep away from the Commons (pictured the chamber on Wednesday packed during PMQs) by party whips but faces no formal sanction

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: ‘It’s a matter for the Conservative Party what they do, but our view is that, given the nature of the allegations, then the whip should be suspended and obviously at that point it would become public.’

Labour home office spokesman Jess Phillips said there was a ‘gap in the process’ at Westminster that favoured those accused of wrongdoing over the safeguarding of others. 

She said constituents might feel they had a ‘right to know’ if the allegations concerned their MP. 

Rita Dexter, a lay member of the Commons standards committee, said the situation was a ‘calamity’. 

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She added: ‘It’s all very well to ask him to stay away, but what about the many constituency venues where that is not applicable?’ 

Trade unions representing parliamentary workers also said the MP should be banned from entering the Palace of Westminster. 

The GMB union said: ‘Staff safety must be the absolute priority and no chances should be taken.’

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was ‘very, very concerned’ that a Conservative colleague had been arrested but said it was up to police to decide whether he should be named.

She said that she did not know the suspect’s identity. She said the latest allegations showed the culture of the Commons needed to ‘change further’. 

Yesterday, MPs were warned by the Commons Speaker not to name the suspect under rules that excuse remarks in the Commons from potential libel actions. Pictured: The PM Boris Johnson in parliament during PMQs on Wednesday

Yesterday, MPs were warned by the Commons Speaker not to name the suspect under rules that excuse remarks in the Commons from potential libel actions. Pictured: The PM Boris Johnson in parliament during PMQs on Wednesday 

The MP was arrested over alleged offences in London between 2002 and 2009. They include rape, indecent assault, sexual assault, the abuse of a position of trust and misconduct in public office.

He has been released on bail pending further enquiries. Chris Heaton-Harris, the Government’s chief whip, has asked the MP in question to stay away from the Commons. 

But whips believe that if they suspended him from the party whip, thereby naming him, it would endanger the anonymity of the alleged victim or victims. 

Former Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan quit the Commons earlier this month after being convicted of sexually assaulting a boy. 

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David Warburton had the Tory whip withdrawn after allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use. At the time he said he had ‘enormous amounts of defence’. 

Neil Parish stood down as Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton this month after admitting watching pornography in the Commons.

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