‘No cultural issue’ in Tory party, says minister, after MP Crispin Blunt’s rape arrest

Published

11 months ago

October 27, 2023

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There is no wider cultural problem among Conservative MPs, a minister insisted, after Crispin Blunt was arrested on suspicion of rape and the possession of controlled substances.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the allegation against the former minister related to an “individual incident” and was not a sign of a wider problem in the party.

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Mr Blunt, the MP for Reigate, was kicked out of the parliamentary party on Thursday after identifying himself as the politician Surrey Police detained on Wednesday morning, before his release on conditional bail.

He said he has been interviewed twice over the matter, the first time three weeks ago when he “initially reported my concern over extortion”, and maintained he was confident he would not be charged.

It is the latest in a string of sexual misconduct allegations to hit the Conservative party during this parliament.

On Wednesday, former Conservative minister Peter Bone was suspended from the Commons for six weeks after a claim he exposed himself to a member of staff was upheld.

Chris Pincher, the former deputy chief whip, was sacked and eventually resigned after being accused of groping two men in a Tory private members’ club.

And last year, former MP Imran Ahmad Khan was jailed after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

However, Ms Keegan told broadcasters on Friday morning that she did not see a “cultural issue” within the parliamentary party.

“I certainly don’t see a cultural issue among Conservative MPs. I see individual incidents which are all investigated as such,” she told Times Radio.

“The prime minister’s been clear about high standards, he expects high standards, he always follows due process, but all you can do with these things is deal with them as they arise and take the appropriate action.”

Pressed about allegations of “sleaze” within her party, Ms Keegan told LBC: “I’ve been in parliament now for six and a bit years and I must say honestly, personally, I’ve never seen any impacts or any sort of, this kind of behaviour.”

After identifying himself, Mr Blunt was stripped of the Conservative whip pending the outcome of the police investigation, meaning he is now an independent.

He wrote on social media: “It has been reported that an MP was arrested yesterday in connection with an allegation of rape. I am confirming that MP was me.

“The arrest was unnecessary as I remain ready to co-operate fully with the investigation that I am confident will end without charge.

“I do not intend to say anything further on this matter until the police have completed their inquiries.”

Mr Blunt, 63, served in the Ministry of Justice as the minister responsible for prisons and probation between 2010 and 2012.

He was first elected in 1997 but announced in May 2022 that he would be standing down at the next general election.

The police were unable to say if the controlled substances were drugs, as tests are being carried out.

On Thursday, a police spokesman said: “We can confirm a man was arrested yesterday morning in Horley on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances.

“He has been released on conditional police bail pending further inquiries.”

Politics

Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer ‘very sensible’ to accept football tickets worth thousands

Published

7 hours ago

September 21, 2024

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Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer 'very sensible' to accept football tickets worth thousands

Lisa Nandy has said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of football tickets was “very sensible”.

The minister for culture, media and sport also said she had never accepted free clothes from a donor.

Speaking to Sky News at the start of the Labour Party conference today, the MP for Wigan said: “The problem that has arisen since [Sir Keir] became leader of the opposition and then prime minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail, would be disruptive for other people and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

“So I think he’s taken a very sensible decision that’s not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it’s right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area.

“But I know that he’d much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he’s been going to the football with for years.”

Ms Nandy also said while she has not accepted free clothes – joking “I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes sadly” – she doesn’t “make any judgements about what other members of parliament do”.

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She said: “The only judgement I would make is if they’re breaking the rules, so they’re trying to hide what they’re doing. That’s when problems arise.

“Because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there’s been any undue influence.”

She asserted there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by senior Labour figures, adding: “We don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes.

“We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things. We don’t claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind.

“MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”

She added: “I don’t think there’s any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.

“We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.

“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”

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Sir Keir, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves said yesterday they will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes.

The announcement followed criticism of Sir Keir’s gifts from donors, which included clothing worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

The register shows Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations to the value of £2,230.

Sky News also revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP – his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.