• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Tory MP in House of Commons groping allegation steps down

MP Ross Thomson, who led Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party leadership campaign north of the border, insisted claims by Paul Sweeney were “false”.

Ben Gelblum by Ben Gelblum
2019-11-04 12:10
in News
Ross Thomson

Ross Thomson

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Conservative MP Ross Thomson has stepped down as the party’s candidate in next month’s General Election, as he claimed “malicious” allegations against him had made his life a “living hell”.

The key Boris Johnson ally announced he would not be the Tory candidate for Aberdeen South after a Labour MP claimed he had groped him in a Westminster bar.

Paul Sweeney, the MP for Glasgow North East said he was speaking out about the alleged incident, which he referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, because he feared no action will be taken before next month’s General Election.

Other men are said to have made allegations against Ross Thomson too. The Metropolitan Police were called out to the Strangers Bar in Westminster in February after reports of an incident.

Officers confirmed they spoke to three men about allegations of “sexual touching”.

Thomson, who was elected as the MP for Aberdeen South in 2017, was allegedly escorted out of the bar by police, although officers indicated that no formal charges or arrests were made.

But Thomson, who led Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party leadership campaign north of the border, insisted the claims by Paul Sweeney on the weekend were “false and defamatory”.

He said he was the victim of a “political smear”, and while he said he would fight to clear his name, Thomson said he would not be seeking re-election.

He stated: “Anonymous and malicious allegations this year have made my life a living hell. 

RelatedPosts

Labour MP demands independent inquiry into ‘flawed’ selection contest

‘Safe haven for paedophiles’: Braverman sounds alarm over Meta’s encryption plans

Sunak bows to pressure, weakens climate pledges

Tory donor who handed party £5m rakes in £800k a week in NHS contracts

“It has been nothing short of traumatic. 

“I have suffered a level of personal abuse that has affected my health, my mental wellbeing and my staff. 

“It has been a level of abuse that I never imagined possible.

“I always believed politics was about noble pursuits and doing what you believed to be best for your country. 

“My experience is that our politics is now so poisonous that we will never attract good, honest and decent people in the first place.

“I have therefore made the most difficult decision that I could ever make. 

“I have decided that I will stand down as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Aberdeen South.”

He has now threatened to “explore all options available to me in response to the defamatory and damaging allegations made by Mr Sweeney”.

Thomson, who was elected to the Commons in 2017, had said back in February that he had referred himself to the Conservative Party’s disciplinary panel “in the interests of openness and transparency”, describing all allegations against him as “completely false”.

‘Separate allegations were made by other men against Ross Thomson in February‘

His comments came after the Scottish Mail On Sunday reported Mr Sweeney had “felt paralysed” during an alleged incident in the Strangers’ Bar in Westminster in October last year.

Paul Sweeney
Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The Glasgow North East MP told the paper: “It was just such a shocking thing. 

“I was in a cold sweat, it was mortifying.”

A spokesman for Mr Sweeney said: “This assault, which took place last October, was reported to the appropriate authorities after similar but entirely separate allegations were made by other men against Ross Thomson in February.

“In light of the failure of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to resolve this matter before the General Election Mr Sweeney feels it is important that voters in Thomson’s constituency should be aware of his behaviour as their representative at Westminster.”

Simon Turner, the chairman of the Aberdeen City Conservative Association, said: “Ross Thomson has been a fantastic MP and a champion for his city. 

“He has always put his constituents first and it is with deep regret that we accept his decision today.

“However, we understand that the recent media coverage has been extremely difficult for Ross and it would have made the upcoming general election campaign a deeply unpleasant experience.

“We would like to thank Ross for his years of hard work for this city, as a councillor, an MSP and an MP for the last two years.”

RELATED: Scottish Labour MP says he was groped by Conservative politician

Tory election candidate said people on Benefits Street need ‘putting down’

Boris Johnson faces more ‘astonishing’ revelations over the Arcuri scandal

Tags: headline
Previous Post

There are no winners in a Brexit election

Next Post

Labour gain six points on Tories after first week of campaigning

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

More from TLE

Government LOSES bid to relax waterway pollution

Road Tripping Across the Strait: Preparations for a Moroccan Adventure

Russell Brand receives standing ovation at Wembley show following sexual assault allegations

Sunak convenes Cabinet as he prepares to water down net zero plans

Russell Brand tour dates postponed as Met receives report of alleged sex assault

REPT BATTERO solidifies European footprint amidst broader sustainability pledge

Starmer compared to ‘zero balls’ Ken doll after ‘inaction man’ swipe at PM

No 10 refuses to guarantee HS2 will run to Manchester

Lords slam government’s ‘deep-rooted complacency’ in regulating water industry

Rishi Sunak broke the MPs’ code of conduct over wife’s involvement in childcare firm

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




-->