Andrew Rosindell: Romford Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault will face no further action

The Tory MP who was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault will face no further action, police have said.

Andrew Rosindell, who has been MP for Romford, East London, since 2001, was arrested in May 2022 over historic sexual offences. He was not named at the time, and was banned from attending Parliament by the Conservative whip.

His spokesman has now said he "has been completely exonerated" and add that he will "continue to speak up for the people of his beloved home town as their local MP".

The Met Police said a “thorough investigation” had been carried out and the evidence threshold for criminal prosecution had not been met. Rosindell, who has not voted in the Commons since April 2022, was arrested in May that year on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office.

A Met spokesman said: “In January 2020, the Met received a report relating to alleged sexual offences having being committed in London between 2002 and 2009.

“A man, aged in his 50s, was arrested in May 2022 on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office. The man has been informed he will face no further action.”

A spokesman for Rosindell said: “In relation to an allegation made in May 2022 by an individual against Andrew Rosindell, the Metropolitan Police have conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that there was no case to answer and that no further action would be taken.

“Andrew has been completely exonerated. He has been working constantly for Romford throughout the past 21 months and will continue to speak up for the people of his beloved home town as their local MP.”

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.