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Nigel Evans denies rape claim as 'completely false' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans has denied allegations against him as "completely false", after being arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. | Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans has denied allegations against him as "completely false", after being arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. |
The Conservative MP, 55, has been questioned about alleged attacks on two men in their 20s, the BBC understands. | The Conservative MP, 55, has been questioned about alleged attacks on two men in their 20s, the BBC understands. |
But in a statement to journalists on Sunday, Mr Evans expressed his "sense of incredulity at these events". | But in a statement to journalists on Sunday, Mr Evans expressed his "sense of incredulity at these events". |
His solicitor said he did not intend to quit as deputy speaker or as an MP. | |
Lancashire Police said on Saturday that a 55-year-old man had been arrested and questioned all day by officers. | |
The alleged offences took place between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, they said. | |
Mr Evans has been bailed until 19 June. | Mr Evans has been bailed until 19 June. |
'Obviously shocked' | |
Addressing reporters outside his home, he said: "Yesterday I was interviewed by police concerning two complaints - one of which dates back four years. | |
He added: "The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made." | |
He went on to thank police for their sensitive handling of the matter, as well as colleagues, friends and members of the public who had "expressed their support and, like me, a sense of incredulity at these events". | |
Prime Minister David Cameron has been made aware of the arrest, it is understood. | Prime Minister David Cameron has been made aware of the arrest, it is understood. |
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC he had been "shocked" by the allegations about Mr Evans. | |
"I know Nigel well, I have known him for years. I'm obviously as shocked as everybody else is," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show. | |
Mr Hammond added it could be "very difficult" for the MP to continue as deputy speaker while the matter was being investigated. | |
"I think that is essentially a question the speaker will have to consider," he said. | |
'Shell-shocked' | |
Mr Evans, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992, was elected one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago. | |
In more than two decades in Parliament, the Swansea-born MP - who came out as gay to a Sunday newspaper in 2010 - has held some senior posts in the party. | |
From 1999 to 2001, he was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. Then, when Iain Duncan Smith became party leader in 2001, he was promoted to shadow Welsh secretary - a post he held for two years. | |
Michael Ranson, chairman of the Ribble Valley Conservative Association, said people in the constituency were "completely shell-shocked". | |
"He is a very popular MP and a very good constituency MP. He's given assistance to a lot of his constituents over many years," he told Sky News. |