British Conservative MP Crispin Blunt announced Thursday that he had been arrested in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct.

The MP for Reigate in Surrey, Southern England has been a Member of Parliament since 1997. He wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter) to say, “I have now been interviewed twice in connection with this incident, the first time three weeks ago, when I initially reported my concern over extortion. The second time was earlier this morning under caution following arrest.” “The arrest was unnecessary as I remain ready to cooperate fully with the investigation that I am confident will end without charge,” Blunt added.

The MP was subsequently suspended from the Conservative Party, with the Whip being removed. On October 26, his Parliamentary page was updated to reflect this, stating he sits as an ‘Independent’ MP.

MPs voted to suspend Peter Bone from the Commons for six weeks earlier this month after an investigation found he had bullied and was sexually inappropriate around a former member of staff. This will trigger a by-election in his constituency. A report by Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel found that Mr Bone exposed himself to a junior staffer who was “trapped” with him in a Madrid hotel.

The sub-panel then determined that:

This is a serious case of misconduct. … The bullying involved violence, shouting and swearing, mocking, belittling and humiliating behaviour, and ostracism. …

This wilful pattern of bullying also included an unwanted incident of sexual misconduct, when the complainant was trapped in a room with the respondent in a hotel in Madrid, … This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure.

A further MP, Conservative Imran Ahmad Khan, was found guilty in April 2022 of sexual assault on a 15-year-old boy.