A CONSERVATIVE MP who was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of rape and sexual assault on dates between 2002 and 2009 has been released on bail.
The unnamed MP, who is in his fifties, has been asked by his party's whips not to attend parliament while a police investigation is ongoing.
He was also detained on suspicion of indecent assault, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office.
The Metropolitan Police said officers received a report in January 2020 relating to alleged sexual offences committed in London across the seven-year period.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said that she was “very, very concerned about the reports,” adding that the case was clearly a “matter for the police.”
The arrest comes just weeks after Westminster was rocked by another round of allegations against sitting MPs. They led to the resignation of one Tory MP, Neil Parish, after he admitted he had watched pornography in the Commons chamber.
Former Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan also quit the Commons earlier this month after being convicted of sexually assaulting a boy.
A third MP, David Warburton, has been suspended from the party following sexual harassment allegations.
Around 50 MPs are believed to have been referred to the parliamentary authorities over sexual misconduct claims since an independent complaints system was set up in 2018.
