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| Nigel Evans speculated that accuser had vested interest in smearing him, court hears | |
| (8 days later) | |
| A rivalry as to who would eventually become Speaker of the House of Commons may have motivated one parliamentary worker to invent an allegation of sexual assault against Nigel Evans, the MP told police. | A rivalry as to who would eventually become Speaker of the House of Commons may have motivated one parliamentary worker to invent an allegation of sexual assault against Nigel Evans, the MP told police. |
| Evans, who denies sexually assaulting seven young men, told detectives that one of his accusers was friends with Lindsay Hoyle, who along with Evans was made deputy speaker of parliament following the 2010 general election, Preston crown court heard on Wednesday. | Evans, who denies sexually assaulting seven young men, told detectives that one of his accusers was friends with Lindsay Hoyle, who along with Evans was made deputy speaker of parliament following the 2010 general election, Preston crown court heard on Wednesday. |
| After his arrest last year, Evans, the 56-year-old MP for the Ribble Valley, was asked about one particular assault alleged to have taken place in parliament in March 2011. | After his arrest last year, Evans, the 56-year-old MP for the Ribble Valley, was asked about one particular assault alleged to have taken place in parliament in March 2011. |
| A 30-year-old gay man, who cannot be named, accuses Evans of groping him in a kitchenette in the deputy speakers' corridor after an evening drinking. In transcripts of police interviews read out to court on Wednesday, Evans denied the assault, first saying that the complainant may have invented the claim because, paradoxically, the MP had not made a pass at him – and he wished he had. "The guy is a socialist, maybe in a world of his own … he believes I fancy him, which I don't," Evans told police. | A 30-year-old gay man, who cannot be named, accuses Evans of groping him in a kitchenette in the deputy speakers' corridor after an evening drinking. In transcripts of police interviews read out to court on Wednesday, Evans denied the assault, first saying that the complainant may have invented the claim because, paradoxically, the MP had not made a pass at him – and he wished he had. "The guy is a socialist, maybe in a world of his own … he believes I fancy him, which I don't," Evans told police. |
| Evans then speculated that because the man was a friend of Hoyle's he had a vested interest in smearing him so that Hoyle, a Labour MP, had a better chance of rising to become the Speaker when the current incumbent, John Bercow, retires. Evans said that as he was friends himself with Hoyle, he did not think his counterpart would have had knowledge of any such plot. Hoyle would make a great Speaker, he added. | Evans then speculated that because the man was a friend of Hoyle's he had a vested interest in smearing him so that Hoyle, a Labour MP, had a better chance of rising to become the Speaker when the current incumbent, John Bercow, retires. Evans said that as he was friends himself with Hoyle, he did not think his counterpart would have had knowledge of any such plot. Hoyle would make a great Speaker, he added. |
| The jury also heard that Evans believed the allegations against him had been orchestrated by one of the complainants, who was friends with a number of the MP's other accusers. The case rested on a "production" dreamed up by a "Machiavellian, manipulative and moody" young man who "wants to be the centre of attention, the centre of attraction", Evans told police. The MP admitted "making a pass" at that man during an overnight stay at his constituency home in Pendleton. But he insisted he had merely misread the signals and that the pair had a "very special relationship". | The jury also heard that Evans believed the allegations against him had been orchestrated by one of the complainants, who was friends with a number of the MP's other accusers. The case rested on a "production" dreamed up by a "Machiavellian, manipulative and moody" young man who "wants to be the centre of attention, the centre of attraction", Evans told police. The MP admitted "making a pass" at that man during an overnight stay at his constituency home in Pendleton. But he insisted he had merely misread the signals and that the pair had a "very special relationship". |
| The prosecution case is expected to conclude on Wednesday, with Evans set to be the defence's first witness. | The prosecution case is expected to conclude on Wednesday, with Evans set to be the defence's first witness. |
| • This article was amended on 3 April 2014 to better reflect the article. |