A FORMAL complaint has been made to Westminster’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards about Tory MP Ross Thomson.
According to a report in The Sunday Times, the complaint against the Aberdeen South MP was made by an SNP researcher who was in attendance at a bar where an alleged incident is believed to have taken place.
Thomson was spoken to by police around 11pm on Tuesday night after they were called due to reports of “sexual touching”.
However, no formal complaints were made to the officers and no arrests were made.
But the Tory MP for Aberdeen South has now been referred to Westminster’s standards watchdog by an unnamed SNP researcher who said he witnessed “unwanted touching” when he part of a group of people drinking in the Strangers’ Bar on the night in question.
Due to controversial rule changes made to the commission last summer to protect anonymity, UK Parliament authorities do not confirm or deny if any complaints have been made.
Reports first surfaced on the Guido Fawkes blog, with allegations Thomson had put his hand down the trousers of men not known to him.
One of those present told The National that Thomson was so drunk he could not talk. “He grabbed my friend from behind,” he said.
“He was standing behind my friend and caressing his front. His hands were on his chest. We asked him to move away, and let’s be clear, at this stage Ross Thomson couldn’t even speak.”
The witness added: “My friend was astonished. He was visiting the Parliament. He did not know that Ross Thomson was an MP and was astonished to find out he was.”
Thomson was moved away from one member of the group, but the witness said that later two police officers arrived.
In a move that surprised some of those present, incluing a number of people in his own party, Thomson released a statement on Twitter denying all allegations.
It said: “A series of serious allegations have been made against me that have featured in the media. I would like to state that these allegations from anonymous sources are completely false.
“No complaint has been made to the Police, Parliament or Conservative Party. Nevertheless in the interest of openness and transparency I am referring myself to the Conservative Party Disciplinary Panel of the Code of Conduct.”
In a tweet, Catriona Matheson, the SNP’s head of communications at Westminster, described Thomson’s statement as “jaw-dropping”, writing: “The bar was packed and there were multiple eye-witnesses.”
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