PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Patrick Spencer has been charged with two counts of sexual assault.
👥 Who’s Involved: Patrick Spencer, MP for England’s Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency (electoral district), and two alleged victims.
📍 Where & When: Alleged incidents occurred at the Groucho Club, London, in August 2023. Spencer will appear in court on June 16, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect,” said a Conservative Party spokesman.
⚠️ Impact: Spencer has been suspended from the Conservative Party and barred from attending the parliamentary estate during the investigation.
IN FULL:
Patrick Spencer, the British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault. The charges relate to alleged incidents involving two women at the Groucho Club in London in August 2023.
The 37-year-old MP, elected to Parliament in July 2024, as the Conservatives more broadly were being ousted by Labour after 14 years in government, was not serving in Parliament at the time of the alleged incidents. Spencer is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 16, 2025.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Spencer attended a voluntary interview at a London police station on March 13, 2025. Following their investigation, charges were brought. Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) special crime and counter-terrorism division, stated, “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 Conservative Party has responded by suspending Spencer and withdrawing the party whip. A party spokesman stated, “We have taken immediate action. Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.” The party emphasized its commitment to integrity and high standards but declined further comment due to the ongoing legal proceedings.
The case against Spencer is just one of a slew of sex crime allegations levelled against British MPs in recent years. One of the most infamous involved Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who was found guilty in 2022 of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was driven from office in part because he was aware of sexual assault allegations involving two men at a London club against former MP Christopher Pincher, but still promoted him to a senior role in the party.
A parliamentary investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) ultimately found Pincher guilty of “an egregious case of sexual misconduct” that constituted an abuse of power. Johnson initially lied, saying that he was unaware of the allegations.
Jack Montgomery contributed to this report.
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