This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/14/tory-mp-defends-her-role-in-nigel-evans-sexual-assault-case
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tory MP defends her role in Nigel Evans sexual assault case | Tory MP defends her role in Nigel Evans sexual assault case |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Tory MP Sarah Wollaston has defended her decision to help two young parliamentary workers bring complaints of rape and sexual assault against former deputy speaker Nigel Evans, saying such serious allegations could not be laughed off or brushed aside. | The Tory MP Sarah Wollaston has defended her decision to help two young parliamentary workers bring complaints of rape and sexual assault against former deputy speaker Nigel Evans, saying such serious allegations could not be laughed off or brushed aside. |
| Evans – who was last week cleared of all charges in court – initially claimed Wollaston "decided to have it in" for him, while fellow Tories have demanded she apologise and reflect on her role in the case. | Evans – who was last week cleared of all charges in court – initially claimed Wollaston "decided to have it in" for him, while fellow Tories have demanded she apologise and reflect on her role in the case. |
| But Wollaston said she had been left with no choice but to help the two men contact police after John Bercow, the Speaker, said he could not settle the matter through a disciplinary process and the Tory whips' office swept one of the allegations "under the carpet". | But Wollaston said she had been left with no choice but to help the two men contact police after John Bercow, the Speaker, said he could not settle the matter through a disciplinary process and the Tory whips' office swept one of the allegations "under the carpet". |
| In an article for the Telegraph website, she expressed her shock at the "rank hostility since Evans's acquittal, from those who seriously feel I should have done nothing". She also revealed that she had offered to resign if the complainants felt that she had pressured them into doing so. | In an article for the Telegraph website, she expressed her shock at the "rank hostility since Evans's acquittal, from those who seriously feel I should have done nothing". She also revealed that she had offered to resign if the complainants felt that she had pressured them into doing so. |
| Speaking on BBC's Newsnight she said she had called the two men on Sunday and offered to step down. | Speaking on BBC's Newsnight she said she had called the two men on Sunday and offered to step down. |
| "I phoned them yesterday because I felt that it was very important … because this allegation had been made about me and my professionalism. I wanted to know if whether that is how they felt – it's how they felt about it that matters – and they were both very clear with me that they had not felt that I had pressured them. | "I phoned them yesterday because I felt that it was very important … because this allegation had been made about me and my professionalism. I wanted to know if whether that is how they felt – it's how they felt about it that matters – and they were both very clear with me that they had not felt that I had pressured them. |
| "But if they had said to me that they felt pressured or that I should step down then I would have done so." | "But if they had said to me that they felt pressured or that I should step down then I would have done so." |
| But speaking on the same programme, former home office minister Anne Widdecombe said: "I think the fact somebody makes the odd drunken pass does not make them a rapist, and I never believed the allegations that were made. | |
| Widdecombe, who gave a testimonial during the Evans trial in which she said he was "truthful, considerate, kind and gentle", added: "They've been through a proper process of trial and have been shown not to be sustained. | |
| "And I think there are now major questions to be answered, not least on the part of the CPS, because this is just the latest in a whole series of cases where high-profile people have faced not one charge but multiple charges and have then been acquitted on all of them." | |
| In her Telegraph article, Wollaston also said the people who should really examine their conduct are those who have for so long ignored sexual harassment within Westminster, after a third of 70 researchers interviewed by Channel 4 News said they had experienced such problems. | In her Telegraph article, Wollaston also said the people who should really examine their conduct are those who have for so long ignored sexual harassment within Westminster, after a third of 70 researchers interviewed by Channel 4 News said they had experienced such problems. |
| "The people who truly have questions to answer are those who have for so long turned a blind eye to the reports of such harassment," she said. "I didn't, and don't, want to be one of them." | "The people who truly have questions to answer are those who have for so long turned a blind eye to the reports of such harassment," she said. "I didn't, and don't, want to be one of them." |
| In a direct challenge to colleagues who questioned her role, she said: "To them, I ask this: what would you do if, in a social setting, someone told you that they had been sexually assaulted by one of your most popular colleagues? Would you have laughed off the allegation, or brushed it aside? I did not." | In a direct challenge to colleagues who questioned her role, she said: "To them, I ask this: what would you do if, in a social setting, someone told you that they had been sexually assaulted by one of your most popular colleagues? Would you have laughed off the allegation, or brushed it aside? I did not." |
| Criticising what she called a backlash, she said: "MPs should not use this case as a pretext to interfere with the independence of the CPS. | Criticising what she called a backlash, she said: "MPs should not use this case as a pretext to interfere with the independence of the CPS. |
| "In particular, it would be completely wrong for politicians to respond to a colleague's experience by making it even harder for potential victims to come forward." | "In particular, it would be completely wrong for politicians to respond to a colleague's experience by making it even harder for potential victims to come forward." |
| She added: "Few cases make it to a courtroom and fewer still result in a conviction. Changing the rules on anonymity would slash reporting rates even further." | She added: "Few cases make it to a courtroom and fewer still result in a conviction. Changing the rules on anonymity would slash reporting rates even further." |
| Evans initially criticised Wollaston in an interview over the weekend, but on Monday said she had been put in a difficult position and he did not blame her for her actions. | Evans initially criticised Wollaston in an interview over the weekend, but on Monday said she had been put in a difficult position and he did not blame her for her actions. |
| In a round of broadcast interviews, Evans denied he acted in any way inappropriately towards any of the complainants in the case, although his counsel during the trial invited the jury to consider whether the alleged incidents may simply have been inappropriate drunken passes or drunken overfamiliarity. | In a round of broadcast interviews, Evans denied he acted in any way inappropriately towards any of the complainants in the case, although his counsel during the trial invited the jury to consider whether the alleged incidents may simply have been inappropriate drunken passes or drunken overfamiliarity. |
| He also said he did not recognise an image of Westminster as full of drunken bad behaviour and sexual harassment. "These headlines that have come forward, there have been times when I've had too much to drink – I absolutely do not doubt that," he said. | He also said he did not recognise an image of Westminster as full of drunken bad behaviour and sexual harassment. "These headlines that have come forward, there have been times when I've had too much to drink – I absolutely do not doubt that," he said. |
| "But the headlines that you hear, and indeed the accusations that were put towards you in court, sounded as if it was 365 days a year and I've got an optic above my bed. These are absolutely ridiculous … Now, I'm a social drinker, that's all I am." | "But the headlines that you hear, and indeed the accusations that were put towards you in court, sounded as if it was 365 days a year and I've got an optic above my bed. These are absolutely ridiculous … Now, I'm a social drinker, that's all I am." |
| As he pledged to help other men wrongly accused of sex offences, the Tory deputy speaker attacked his own party's cuts to legal aid, which mean he is £130,000 out of pocket after having hired a private lawyer to help clear his name. | As he pledged to help other men wrongly accused of sex offences, the Tory deputy speaker attacked his own party's cuts to legal aid, which mean he is £130,000 out of pocket after having hired a private lawyer to help clear his name. |
| Evans said he did not realise he would not get all his costs paid until the lawyer explained it, even though he presided over a debate on the coalition's new legislation, which capped the level of repayments for acquitted defendants to the level of legal aid fees. | Evans said he did not realise he would not get all his costs paid until the lawyer explained it, even though he presided over a debate on the coalition's new legislation, which capped the level of repayments for acquitted defendants to the level of legal aid fees. |
| The senior Tory portrayed chancellor George Osborne as "smiling all the way to the bank" because of VAT payments on the fees, and criticised the "unintended consequences" of the coalition's cuts which can "break" people. | The senior Tory portrayed chancellor George Osborne as "smiling all the way to the bank" because of VAT payments on the fees, and criticised the "unintended consequences" of the coalition's cuts which can "break" people. |
| As well as the attack on his party's own policy, Evans called for a fresh look at whether defendants in sex offence cases should get anonymity on the same level as people who "sling mud" against them. | As well as the attack on his party's own policy, Evans called for a fresh look at whether defendants in sex offence cases should get anonymity on the same level as people who "sling mud" against them. |
| The coalition pledged to look at this idea when it came to power but has dropped the plans amid concern about whether it would stop further victims of an alleged sex offender coming forward. | The coalition pledged to look at this idea when it came to power but has dropped the plans amid concern about whether it would stop further victims of an alleged sex offender coming forward. |
| Evans said: "The people who bring allegations have anonymity for the rest of their lives, yet those who are accused – it's not just if you're a celebrity, it could be anybody – they are not, their names are out there immediately. And it may well be that the [home affairs] committee could have a look at whether there should be some form of equanimity, whether it should be anonymity up to charge, up to trial, whatever it happens to be." | Evans said: "The people who bring allegations have anonymity for the rest of their lives, yet those who are accused – it's not just if you're a celebrity, it could be anybody – they are not, their names are out there immediately. And it may well be that the [home affairs] committee could have a look at whether there should be some form of equanimity, whether it should be anonymity up to charge, up to trial, whatever it happens to be." |