Tory MP Patrick Spencer pleads not guilty charged with sexually assaulting two women at London's famous Groucho club
MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party
MP IN DOCK Tory MP Patrick Spencer pleads not guilty charged with sexually assaulting two women at London's famous Groucho club
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A TORY MP has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two women at London's famous Groucho club.
Patrick Spencer allegedly carried out the attacks at the private members' club in Soho in August 2023.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
3
MP Patrick Spencer has arrived at court charged with sexual assault
Credit: PA
3
He was charged last month
Credit: PA
The 37-year-old's lawyers said previously he "categorically denies" the charges and "will defend the allegations robustly in court".
Spencer, who is the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.
He confirmed his name and date of birth before pleading not guilty to the offences.
Spencer, who was not an MP at the time of the alleged attacks, was bailed to next appear at Southwark Crown Court on July 14.
A Conservative Party spokesman previously confirmed Spencer has been suspended by the Tories and had the whip withdrawn.
He was charged after attending a voluntary interview at a London police station on March 13.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: "Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.
"The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023.
"The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
"It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
Spencer was elected last year with a majority of 4,290.
Before becoming an MP, Spencer worked in finance for private equity firm IPGL, which is chaired by his dad.
He also worked for the Centre for Social Justice thinktank before becoming a senior adviser at the Department for Education.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: "The Conservative Party believes in integrity and high standards. We have taken immediate action.
"Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.
"The Conservative Party cannot comment further on an ongoing legal case."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Kemi was at her best skewering Labour on grooming gangs
Yvette Cooper had come to the House of Commons to shut, as loudly and with as much gusto as she could manage, a stable door long after the horse had bolted. The government was finally doing what it had long derided as 'a far-right bandwagon' and agreed to a national inquiry into the Pakistani rape gangs which blighted small-town England for decades. On the bench next to her were Bridget Philistine – who branded Tory calls for an inquiry 'political opportunism', Big Ange, whose new rules on Islamophobia would probably have made any of the journalism which exposed the gangs illegal, and Lucy Powell – the tin-eared, suet-brained embodiment of Blob-think who claimed that mentioning the gangs was a 'dog whistle'. To have this cavalcade of guilty women lined up as the inquiry was announced was almost insulting. Mrs Badenoch, by contrast, had turned up in the House of Commons. She was angry The detail was repugnant. Gangs had targeted children as young as ten, specifically grooming those with learning difficulties and those in care. 'Perpetrators' Cooper told us, 'walked free because no one joined the dots'. Or rather, they did join the dots, but the prevailing orthodoxy told them to ignore what they saw for fear of being branded racist? That sounds more accurate. Cooper admitted that the report had 'identified over-representation of Asian and Pakistani heritage men' in the gangs. This was like someone earnestly telling the house that they had needed a lengthy and costly investigation to tell them that the sky was blue. Don't worry though: having finally realised what was wrong, Ol' Sherlock Cooper assured the house that she had a plan of action. Inevitably this looked like mashing the same buttons again and again, like an impatient pedestrian at a zebra crossing. They would be 'new laws' and 'new police operations'. If only someone had tried these things before? Keir Starmer was on his way to Canada for the G7; exactly the sort of self-congratulatory environment he prefers to dealing with the country's problems. Mrs Badenoch, by contrast, had turned up in the House of Commons. She was angry. 'Three times Labour MPs voted against an inquiry', she yelled as the members opposite squealed and squirmed. In parliamentary terms this was probably the best the Leader of the Opposition has been: passionate, coruscating and unambiguously in the right. It's just a shame it took such shameful behaviour from the government to bring it out. The depths had not yet been plumbed, however, until an intervention by Labour MP for Telford, Shaun Davies, who condemned Rishi Sunak for 'refusing to provide a statutory inquiry into' grooming gangs in Telford – before promptly scuttling away. As leader of Telford and Wrekin Council in 2016, Davies himself signed a letter calling for the then-prime minister and home secretary to reject calls for an inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town. There are many things we could say about Mr Davies, a typical Labour 2024 backbencher: so lightweight and ridiculous he might as well be made of helium. We might suggest that his weaselling self-preservation efforts imply a lack of conscience. We might say that his own track record in local government suggests, at best, a lack of competence. We might observe that his attempt today to smear his opponents while simultaneously claiming to 'take this out of the party-political field' suggests that he has no spine. However, one thing we cannot suggest that he lacks, in turning up and daring to speak at a moment like this, is a brass neck.
STV News
3 hours ago
- STV News
Dumfries and Galloway leader quits ahead of 'no confidence' vote
The leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council quit less than an hour ahead of a 'no confidence' vote on Monday. In a note to council officials, Tory council leader Gail Macgregor said she had decided to resign as leader with 'the heaviest of hearts'. 'It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of Dumfries and Galloway as leader of the council for the past 26 months,' she said. 'During this time I have always tried to lead with a collaborative approach, and I will always do so for the good of the people we serve and the services we provide.' A special meeting will take place on Monday afternoon in which members are expected to choose a new administration. The Tory group, with Macgregor at the helm, has led the administration in Dumfries and Galloway over the past two years since the collapse of a Labour/SNP coalition in 2023. However, that is now likely to come to an end on Monday. More than half of the members of the local authority signed a call for a special meeting to 'call for the removal of [Macgregor and deputy leader Malcolm Johnstone] with a motion of no confidence'. It has signatures from 22 local councillors, and it comes two weeks after seven Tory councillors left the Conservative group to form two separate groups of their own. It has left the Conservatives with just nine remaining councillors – down from a previous group of 16 – and it prompted other parties to request the meeting. However, before councillors got the chance to consider the motion to remove Councillor MacGregor from her post, she resigned from the role voluntarily. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
SNP take control of Dumfries and Galloway council after Tory leader
Councillors attended a special full meeting of the council in Dumfries on Monday and were due to vote on the leadership of Tory councillor Gail Macgregor, who has led the council since 2023. SNP members on the local authority had called the vote of no confidence on June 3 in a bid to remove the Tory leadership. They were supported by councillors from Scottish Labour, Democratic Alliance and one independent. McGregor announced her intention to stand down in a note to officials on Monday morning ahead of the crunch vote. READ MORE: UK must 'constrain Israel' after attacks on Iran, John Swinney says The SNP's slate to take over the administration passed with 16 votes in favour of the motion. A bid to install former Tory councillor, now independent, Ian Carruthers as leader with the SNP group leader Stephen Thompson as deputy, failed after only gathering 10 votes. A total of 16 councillors abstained. Writing on Facebook, Dumfries and Galloway SNP council group confirmed they had taken over the administration. "Tories out: Following a special meeting, the SNP have successfully won a vote to run Dumfries and Galloway Council and deliver on our progressive SNP budget and priorities. "We're committed to delivering for the people of our region." SNP councillor Katie Hagmann served as interim chair during the meeting while the vote took place. (Image: Dumfries and Galloway Council) The crunch vote was called after seven Tory councillors quit the party on June 2 over a row over the direction of the administration, which was left with only nine members. The SNP became the largest group with 11 councillors. Councillors Andrew Giusti, Chrissie Hill, David Inglis and Richard Marsh formed a new group called Novantae. Carruthers, Karen Carruthers and Andrew Wood formed a separate independent group. In a note to council officials, Macgregor said with 'the heaviest of hearts' she had decided to quit. 'It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of Dumfries and Galloway as Leader of the Council for the past 26 months,' she said. 'During this time I have always tried to lead with a collaborative approach, and I will always do so for the good of the people we serve and the services we provide.' More to follow…
