Shropshire Star

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard faces wait over rape allegation

Shropshire MP Mark Pritchard faces a wait over Christmas to find out whether he faces any charges after being arrested over an allegation of rape.

Published

The Wrekin MP was arrested and later bailed until early January after voluntarily going to London's Holborn Police Station on Tuesday evening following an incident that is alleged to have taken place in the capital earlier this year.

Mr Pritchard has not made any comment on the complaint against him.

Mark Pritchard MP

Mr Pritchard, who grew up in Herefordshire, was first elected to The Wrekin in 2005 after a career in marketing, when he beat serving Labour MP Peter Bradley by just 942 votes. He has since established the constituency as one of the Conservatives' safest seats.

He has been a prominent figure on the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party and served as secretary of the powerful Tory 1922 committee for two years until 2012. He is also a member of parliament's joint national security strategy committee.

In September, Mr Pritchard disclosed that he had been targeted by a journalist as part of the sting that led to Tory minister Brooks Newmark resigning over explicit "selfies".

He has apparently withdrawn a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) after agreeing a confidential settlement.

Mr Pritchard divorced his wife of 15 years, Sondra, last year.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm that a 48-year-old man voluntarily attended a north London police station on Tuesday, December 2 where he was arrested, following an allegation of rape in central London.

"He has been bailed to a date in early January 2015 pending further inquiries."

The Tory backbencher was released on police bail four hours after his arrest.

The exact date of the alleged incident is not known but it is said to have allegedly taken place earlier this year. He has not been charged with any offence.

Before his arrest, Mr Pritchard was in the House of Commons taking part in a debate on the peace process in Colombia.

Mr Pritchard's constituency chairman Nigel Dugmore said he had received a brief message from the MP but he could not make any further comment.

A Conservative Party spokesman added: "This is a police matter. It would be inappropriate to comment while an investigation is taking place."

News of Mr Pritchard's arrest emerged through a brief letter from a police officer to the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.

As a matter of procedure, it is routine for the police to inform the Speaker if it launches an investigation involving an MP.

The letter, which is referred to in Commons papers, is from Met officer Sandra Looby.

She tells Mr Bercow: "I write to inform you that on December 2 Mark Pritchard MP was arrested at 6.14pm at Holborn Police Station in London by Metropolitan Police Service officers.

"Mr Pritchard was questioned by police and released on police bail later the same evening at 10.16pm."

Nigel Dugmore chairman of the Conservative party in The Wrekin said he had received a message from Mr Pritchard telling him of the arrest but it did not go into detail.

News of Mark Pritchard's arrest came through official Government papers

"Until there is any statement made by police I cannot comment," he said.

Mr Pritchard, of Church Street, Wellington was elected in 2005. Before entering Parliament he was director of a marketing communications company.

The MP is a prominent figure on the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party. He is a member of parliament's joint national security strategy committee.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.