UK lawmaker arrested on suspicion of rape

 A British lawmaker from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has been arrested on suspicion of rape and other sexual offences committed over a seven-year period.

London’s Metropolitan Police said a man, aged in his 50s, had been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust, and misconduct in public office. He remained in custody.

A spokesperson for the Conservative whips office, which is in charge of party discipline in parliament, confirmed that the man arrested was a member of parliament for the Conservatives and said the lawmaker had been told to stay away from the parliamentary estate while the police investigation took place.

“Until the conclusion of the investigation we will not be commenting further,” the spokesperson said.

Neither the police nor the whips office named the suspect.

In a statement, police said they had received a report in January 2020 relating to alleged offences committed between 2002 and 2009 in London.

“An investigation is ongoing, led by officers from Central Specialist Crime,” the police statement said.