The Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has said he is “completely confident” he will be able to prove his innocence after reports that police were investigating him for alleged sexual offences involving two female members of his staff.
Elphicke was suspended by his party five months ago after what the Tory chief whip, Julian Smith, described as “serious allegations” that had been passed on to the police.
At that time, Elphicke tweeted to deny any wrongdoing, and to say that the party had “tipped off the press” before telling him of his suspension.
The MP for Dover reacted again on Saturday night after the Sunday Times claimed the alleged victims were interviewed by police earlier this year.
Officers also spoke to the MP under caution on 12 March, which he claimed was the first time he was made aware of the nature of the allegations.
In a post on Twitter, Elphicke said: “It was some 5 months before I was made aware of what the ‘allegations’ against me were.”
“Now I know, I am completely confident I will be able to prove my innocence. I will continue to defend myself vigorously for as long as necessary.”
In a statement published by the Mail on Sunday, he added: “I met with the police on 12 March [and] was then told for the first time the nature of the allegations made against me.
“Until that point I had no idea whatsoever of the allegations which had led to my having the Conservative whip suspended in early November 2017, despite my repeated requests for clarification to both the chief whip and the police.”
Elphicke, 47, was a lawyer before entering parliament and has represented his constituency in Kent since 2010. He has been a backbencher, apart from a brief spell as a junior whip that ended in 2016.
Although he backed a vote to remain in the European Union before the 2016 referendum, he has emerged since then as a staunch advocate of Brexit. He is a member of the pro-Brexit European research group of Tory MPs, and has talked up the idea of a no-deal departure being an option.
The development comes after allegations of inappropriate behaviour by politicians have cost the government two senior ministers. Michael Fallon resigned as defence secretary in November, admitting his behaviour towards women in the past had “fallen short”.
Damian Green was sacked as first secretary of state in December after admitting he lied about the presence of pornographic images on his House of Commons computer.
Elphicke’s wife, Natalie, has publicly supported her husband and wrote an article last year for the Sunday Times in which she claimed he had been “thrown to the wolves” by the Tory party, leaving their family in “confusion and fear”.
She said: “I have always been a Conservative and part of the Conservative family. As Conservatives we cannot stand by when injustice is heaped upon injustice. When wrong follows wrong. When one of our own is thrown to the wolves – is hung out to dry in this manner without even being told of what he is accused.”
