Female Labour MP accuses shadow minister of sexual assault

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A female Labour MP has reported a shadow frontbench MP to the Metropolitan police, claiming he sexually assaulted her.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place after a summer party in London in July 2021. But the MP decided to approach the Met in recent weeks, according to Tortoise.

She is said to have been reluctant to make a formal complaint, although she was encouraged to, as she felt his popularity within the party would not help her case, the report claims.

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said on Wednesday that the party leader took a “zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment” and was “confident the process is independent, thorough and robust”.

A Labour spokesperson said: “We take any allegations of this sort very seriously and would always encourage individuals to go to the parliamentary process, the Labour party process or the police.

“In terms of the Labour party process, it is a thorough, robust and independent process that we believe individuals can have confidence in.”

The female MP is said to have spoken to Labour whips over safeguarding issues and concerns about a “wider pattern of behaviour”.

The Guardian has approached the Met police for comment.