THE Tory MP being investigated by his party over allegations of “sexual touching” in a House of Commons bar has given his first inter- view since the claims were made – but said it would be “inappropriate” to comment at this stage.
Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson faced claims about his behaviour at the Strangers Bar at the House of Commons on February 5.
Police confirmed they spoke to three men but no formal allegations and no arrests were made.
On Twitter last week, Thomson said he had referred himself to the Conservative Party’s disciplinary panel “in the interests of openness and transparency”, describing the allegations as “completely false”.
READ MORE: Footage of alleged incident involving Ross Thomson could be released
Speaking to the BBC outside his constituency office in Aberdeen, Thomson said he would be willing to discuss what had happened in more detail following the conclusion of the investigation. Thomson said: “Given there is potentially a live process, as well as my own referral to our party’s internal investigation, it would be really inappropriate to comment at this time. I’d be more than happy to sit down with you at some point to talk to you exactly about what happened and what the last few weeks have actually been like.
“But given that there could still be a really live process on right now, it would be inappropriate to comment given that I’ve had no confirmation from the commissioner’s office that a complaint has in fact been dismissed and that I also did refer myself to the party’s internal investigation so I’m still awaiting clarity on that, too.”
Video: Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson gives his first interview since allegations about his behaviour in a @HouseofCommons bar. @ScotTories @RossThomson_MP @BBCScotlandNews pic.twitter.com/YQp601VMii
— BBC North East Scot (@BBCNorthEast) February 15, 2019
READ MORE: Tory Ross Thomson was ‘so drunk he couldn’t speak’ at bar
Thomson said he remains committed in his work as an MP and accepted his constituents deserved an explanation.
“Absolutely, which is why I’m more than happy to sit down with you, we will do that, I’m going to talk to people about exactly what did happen, what happened over the last few weeks and how it’s been,” Thomson said. “I am committed to my constituents, which is why I’m in the office today working on the issues that are really important to them”.
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