MP arrested over sexual assault claim

A Conservative MP has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and released on bail, police said. Andrew Bridgen, a married father-of-two who entered parliament in last year's election, was arrested in relation to an alleged assault in central London in the early hours of Thursday morning. "A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault against a 29-year-old woman at an address in (the postcode of) SW1 in the early hours of this morning," a police statement said without naming him, in line with policy. "He has been bailed to return on a date in mid-July." A Conservative party spokesman said: "At the moment, this is a matter for the police, who are investigating, and it would be inappropriate to comment further until the facts are clear." But the chairman of Bridgen's constituency association in North West Leicestershire offered the MP his support. "I have known him a long time, he is a good guy, an all-round good guy, good for the constituency -- a very popular man," Graham Allman told reporters.