Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke charged with sexual assault

A Conservative MP has been charged with three counts of sexual assault against two women.

Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover, is alleged to have assaulted one woman in 2007 and a second woman twice in 2016.

Mr Elphicke, 48, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 6 September.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said it had made the decision to charge Mr Elphicke “after reviewing a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police”.

Mr Elphicke was suspended from the party in November 2017 after “serious allegations” against him were referred to police.

But he had the whip reinstated in December 2018 for a vote of confidence in Theresa May.

In a statement, the MP’s solicitor Ellen Peart said: “Charlie Elphicke has said from the outset that he denies any wrongdoing.

“He will defend himself vigorously and is confident that he will clear his name.”

Mr Elphicke has represented his constituency since 2010 and was a government whip from 2015 to 2016.

Source: bbc.co.uk