A LABOUR MP has publicly come forward to claim that he was sexually assaulted by Tory MP Ross Thomson, after branding the investigation into his conduct a "shambles".
Paul Sweeney alleges that Thomson, a key ally to Boris Johnson, groped him last October in a Commons bar.
Thomson was removed from the same bar in February this year after allegedly groping other men, which prompted the Labour MP to come forward.
Sweeney, who represents Glasgow North East, claims that Thomson "drunkenly" intruded on a conversation he was having with friends before pressing his hand down the front of the Labour MP's trousers.
Recalling the alleged incident, he said "I felt paralysed. It was just such a shocking thing. I was in a cold sweat, it was mortifying.
"Nobody knew where to look at the table. It’s embarrassing.
"In the back of my mind, I was thinking that if I just punched the guy, who knows where that could end up when there’s a bar full of journalists.
"I couldn’t fight, so I took flight."
Sweeney said he then went to sit with other MPs, when Thomson followed him across the room and continued touching him before eventually leaving the bar.
The Labour MP said he initially feared speaking out, stating that he did not want to be "the MP who was sexually assaulted", but felt an obligation to do so after new allegations came to light in February.
Speaking to the Scottish Mail on Sunday, he said: "I sat on this for ages because I didn’t want to make a fuss out of it. But when I go into the chamber and he’s there doing a speech, it’s still there – that intimidation. He knows, and I know, what went on there. I can’t get away from him. The House of Commons is 650 MPs in a very confined environment – it’s not like you can just not see the person.
"It’s not like a nightclub where it would’ve been an unfortunate situation but you never see that person again. You could just brush it off.
"Basically, I have to work on the same corridor as someone who sexually assaulted me."
Sweeney concluded: "He’s not fit to hold public office. I don’t think he’s fit to be a Member of Parliament."
The former ship builder said that the investigation into his claims, which launched seven months ago, has been a "shambles" and has left him frustrated over its slow progress.
Thomson confirmed that he was in the Strangers' Bar that night, but denies any wrongdoing.
He said: "Every single report of bullying and harassment deserves to be treated with the utmost seriousness.
"This has been a confidential process, and confidential for a reason to protect people who are genuine victims, and I have cooperated fully with the standards investigation even though I knew the allegations against me were completely false.
"Given that Paul Sweeney has broken this confidentially, I have no choice but to defend myself.
"The process is still going on and I find it very surprising that after several months of this process, Paul Sweeney has decided to go public at this time in making entirely false allegations for the purpose of political point-scoring."
"I am going through a full, transparent, rigorous investigation whereby I am absolutely confident it would show that I am a fit and proper person to be an MP because I have done nothing."
A Scottish Tory spokesperson said: "We await the outcome of the Parliamentary Standards Commission investigation."
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