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Nigel Evans duties 'on hold' during rape inquiry | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans will not resume his duties in the chamber while police continue to investigate allegations against him. | Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans will not resume his duties in the chamber while police continue to investigate allegations against him. |
Mr Evans denies allegations he raped a man and sexually assaulted another. | |
He had asked to be excused from chairing the Queen's Speech debates, which end on Wednesday. | |
But the Tory MP and Speaker John Bercow have now agreed Mr Evans will "not resume chairing duties while police investigations are ongoing". | |
A House of Commons spokesman confirmed the pair met on 7 May, and that the Chairman of Ways and Means, Lindsay Hoyle, and Second Deputy Chairman, Dawn Primarolo, also supported the decision. | |
Mr Evans, 55, was questioned on 4 May about the alleged attacks on two men between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, and bailed until 19 June. | |
He said last week that he was continuing work for his Ribble Valley constituency - where he has been an MP since 1922 - which had shown him "fantastic support". | |
Mr Evans, who came out as gay in 2010, was elected as one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago. | |
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. | |
He stood twice in Welsh seats before landing the Lancashire constituency he has held since 1992. | |
After entering the Commons that year, he quickly became a parliamentary private secretary, working for William Hague for two years during his time as Secretary of State for Wales. | |
An outspoken right-wing MP and known Eurosceptic, Mr Evans was one of the first MPs to start campaigning against the prospect of a single currency. He has also regularly campaigned against drugs. |