Crispin Blunt, a senior Member of Parliament representing Reigate for the Conservative Party, was arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of drugs. The party immediately suspended Blunt, a former justice minister, who says he was being extorted by someone and that he expects to be cleared.
It is the latest in a string of arrests of MPs in relation to alleged sexual crimes.Another sitting Conservative MP, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in May 2022 on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault and rape. He has not been charged.Two former Tory MPs have been convicted of sexual assault: Charlie Elphicke, who was MP for Dover, was sentenced to a two-year prison term in 2020 on three counts of sexual assault against two women; and Imran Ahmad Khan, the former MP for Wakefield, was last year sentenced to 18 months in jail for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
And they forgot about Peter Bone, the Wellingborough Conservative MP suspended who "harassed and bullied [a] staff member and exposed his genitals"
It's interesting that the other "Senior Tory MP" arrested on suspicion of rape can't be named, despite "being spoken about openly among Conservative MPs." They likely sought and received a legal injunction to prevent the press naming them. "Secret arrests" sound like a great example of something that you either do not want at any cost, or have to pay an awful lot of money for.
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