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Nigel Evans driven to despair by sexual assault claims, trial hears Nigel Evans driven to despair by sexual assault claims, trial hears
(about 1 hour later)
The former deputy Commons speaker Nigel Evans has described the ordeal of being accused of sexually assaulting a number of young men over 10 years. The former deputy Commons speaker Nigel Evans has described the "absolute hell" of being accused of sexually assaulting several young men, telling a jury he felt deeply ashamed and driven to despair.
Evans, 56, told Preston crown court on Monday that he was in a total state of shock when he was arrested last May. The MP said he felt "like a chastened child" when a charismatic Commons worker spurned his sexual advances, in a 2009 incident he admitted could have killed his political career.
Asked how the arrest affected him, Evans said: "Awful. It's difficult to put it into words. It's hell, absolute hell. I've had 10 months of these allegations starting with that knock on the door. At times growing close to tears in the witness box, Evans told Preston crown court he fell for the young parliamentary worker after confiding in him about his private struggles with his sexuality.
"He was incredibly flirtatious – I thought he was interested in me. There's no fool like an old fool," he told jurors.
Evans, 56, told jurors how he would hold hands with the 23-year-old, who is bisexual, and share intimate stories on the Commons terrace. The MP said he wrongly interpreted their blossoming friendship before making a "cackhanded pass" at the younger man during a night of heavy drinking at his constituency home in Pendleton, Lancashire, in July 2009.
Jurors heard how the young man "exploded" with anger when Evans repeatedly moved his hand down the man's torso as they lay on his sofa, before standing up and shoving the MP across the room.
In the following days the Commons worker made a complaint about Evans to then Tory chief whip Patrick McLoughlin. "I was very let down because I thought the relationship between he and I was of such a strength he would've recognised it was a pass and it would've just been one of those things," Evans said.
The MP for Ribble Valley, Lancashire, said he was advised by McLoughlin, now transport secretary, to watch his drinking but given no sanction over the unwanted sexual approach. Asked whether he could have been sanctioned, Evans replied: "Oh yes. Patrick could've ended my career there and then."
Evans went on to be asked about intimate details surrounding an allegation that he raped a 22-year-old student in his Pendleton cottage last year.
The MP repeatedly answered "no" when asked whether he forced himself on the young man, telling jurors it was quite clear the student was a "willing participant" in the encounter.
While giving explicit details of how he and the young man performed sex acts on each other in the MP's bedroom, the judge stepped in to halt the questioning by Evans's barrister.
In the witness box a visibly upset Evans said: "Please accept I find this process incredibly difficult too." Sat feet away his friend, former Coronation Street actor Vicky Entwistle, was in tears in the public gallery.
Asked how it felt to be accused of being a rapist, Evans said: "I can't put it into words. It's something that will live with me I know for the rest of my life."
The MP said he felt deeply ashamed and driven to despair when he was arrested by Lancashire constabulary detectives last May. He said: "Awful. It's difficult to put it into words. It's hell, absolute hell. I've had 10 months of these allegations starting with that knock on the door.
"To have yourself sullied in that way is awful. I could not do my job. It's incredibly difficult.""To have yourself sullied in that way is awful. I could not do my job. It's incredibly difficult."
Evans, 56, appeared close to tears as his barrister Peter Wright QC asked him to describe how it felt to be arrested and questioned on suspicion of rape and sexual assaults. Jurors heard that the day before the MP's arrest, Evans was told by his chief of staff that the alleged rape victim was talking to the police. Despite that, Evans said the arrest left him in a "total state of shock".
"To have these allegations brought against you in such a public way is just awful," Evans said. "My colleagues were superb, my family and friends were absolutely tremendous, but at times I could not read the newspapers, it was just that bad." "I felt ashamed, deeply ashamed. I just felt it was happening to somebody else, that's the only way I could get through it. I've never gone through anything like that before in my life," he said.
He continued: "I was in a total state of shock despite the fact I was told the day before by my chief of staff that [a complainant] was talking to the police … I did not believe this would end up with a knock on the door. Evans denies one count of rape, two indecent assaults, five sexual assaults and an attempted sexual assault.
"I felt ashamed, deeply ashamed. I just felt it was happening to somebody else, that's the only way I could get through it. I've never gone through anything like that before in my life."
Evans said as an MP he wanted to go through his career without even being accused of having six items in a five items or less queue at the supermarket, adding: "To be accused of what I was accused of took it to a level that was just awful and at times I [was in] despair."
Earlier on Monday, Evans admitted the Conservative party could have ended his career when a young Commons worker claimed the MP had sexually assaulted him.
Evans told jurors last Tuesday that he faced no sanctions despite admitting to the then Tory chief whip, Patrick McLoughlin, that he made an unwanted pass at the 23-year-old aspiring politician following a night of heavy drinking in 2009.
Giving evidence for a second day, Evans described how he fell for the young man and felt like a "chastened child" when he rebuffed his advances, admitting: "There's no fool like an old fool."
The MP for Ribble Valley in Lancashire has pleaded not guilty to one charge of rape, two indecent assaults, five sexual assaults and one attempted sexual assault.
The trial continues.The trial continues.