{"id":3462,"date":"2025-05-13T18:58:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/mp-charged-over-sex-assaults-at-londons-groucho-club\/"},"modified":"2025-05-13T18:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:58:15","slug":"mp-charged-over-sex-assaults-at-londons-groucho-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/mp-charged-over-sex-assaults-at-londons-groucho-club\/","title":{"rendered":"MP charged over sex assaults at London&#8217;s Groucho Club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MP charged over sex assaults at London&#8217;s Groucho Club<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-801dd632-0 eSlECZ\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-1 eeJXtz\"><time datetime=\"2025-05-13T16:21:22.627Z\" class=\"sc-801dd632-2 IvNnh\">3 hours ago<\/time><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-801dd632-12 jSIeFi\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-5 kRoBHa\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-801dd632-7 lasLGY\">Zoe Applegate<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>BBC News, Suffolk<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gyQxwn\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-1 eOgpjw\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/BAkEaT.png\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 itgEAh hide-when-no-script\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/30d9\/live\/b05a2be0-3003-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"PA Media Patrick Spencer wears a navy suit and stands in front of a plain background.\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe\"><span class=\"sc-4abb68ca-2 kkAKIJ\">PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"17\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">An MP has been charged with two counts of sexual assault that allegedly took place at London&#8217;s Groucho Club, the Metropolitan Police have said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer is accused of two attacks on two separate women in August 2023 &#8211; before he was elected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The 37-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court on 16 June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Mr Spencer&#8217;s lawyers say he &#8220;categorically denies the charges&#8221; against him and &#8220;will defend the allegations robustly in court&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"17\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised charges relating to &#8220;two alleged incidents involving two separate women&#8221; at the private members&#8217; club.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;On 13 March 2025, a man attended a voluntary interview at a London police station,&#8221; the Met Police said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Patrick Spencer has since been charged with two counts of sexual assault and will appear at Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court on Monday, 16 June.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 eOFjmw\">&#8216;Evidence review&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"18\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: &#8220;Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The Groucho is a private members&#8217; club in Soho&#8217;s Dean Street. It opened in 1985 and became a well-known haunt of celebrities and media figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"40\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">On his website, Spencer says he lives in Suffolk with his family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">He was not an MP at the time of the alleged attacks, having been elected to Parliament for the Conservatives in July 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed that Spencer had been suspended. He is currently listed as an independent on the UK Parliament website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The spokesman said in a statement that the Conservative party &#8220;believes in integrity and high standards&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;We have taken immediate action,&#8221; he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;The Conservative Party cannot comment further on an ongoing legal case.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">It is understood that Spencer was asked not to attend the parliamentary estate by the Tories&#8217; chief whip while police carried out their investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">MPs face being barred from attending Parliament if they are arrested for serious sexual or violent offences after changes last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A risk assessment panel appointed by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle considers cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">It can decide on a range of measures including exclusion from the parliamentary estate and a ban on Commons-funded travel, although its conclusions are kept confidential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 eOFjmw\">&#8216;Moral probity&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\" readability=\"24\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Spencer was elected as the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich in July 2024 with a majority of 4,290.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Before he entered the Commons, he worked in finance for the private equity firm IPGL, a company chaired by his father, former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">He later took a job at the Centre for Social Justice think tank and then became a senior adviser at the Department for Education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Spencer made his maiden speech in July during a debate on the MPs&#8217; code of conduct relating to second jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">He said then that the &#8220;most important thing to the people across my constituency&#8221; was &#8220;restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to our political system&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dHQIrb\">\n<div class=\"sc-666b6d83-0 sc-c4fb5674-0 gMiqnK iuHqSH\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-c4fb5674-2 jdmgui\">Related internet links<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Published at Tue, 13 May 2025 16:21:22 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MP charged over sex assaults at London&#8217;s Groucho Club 3 hours ago Zoe Applegate BBC News, Suffolk PA Media An MP has been charged with two counts of sexual assault that allegedly took place at London&#8217;s Groucho Club, the Metropolitan Police have said. Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer is accused of two&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/mp-charged-over-sex-assaults-at-londons-groucho-club\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">MP charged over sex assaults at London&#8217;s Groucho Club<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}