A Tory MP who was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault over allegations that date from between 2002 and 2009 has been released on bail, the Metropolitan Police said.
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.
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 “Pestminster” 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.
Meanwhile, prime minister Boris Johnson has been under intense pressure to publish the legal basis for plans to override the Northern Ireland protocol, as the EU raised the spectre of an all-out trade war by warning it was ready to retaliate.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday announced the government will bring legislation to unilaterally ditch the protocol, despite a plea from the Bank of England to avoid a damaging trade war.
Vice-president of the bloc Maroš Šefčovič responded saying he had “significant concerns” about the plan and warned that “unilateral actions are not acceptable”.
