Lib Dem member released with no further action after sexual assault claim (original) (raw)

Lib Dem member released with no further action after sexual assault claim at late-night conference party

Sussex Police confirmed a 57-year-old man had been arrested in relation to the alleged incident at The Grand Hotel in Brighton. He was later released, and will face no further action

Sussex Police confirmed a 57-year-old man had been arrested

A man has been released with no further action after being arrested on suspicion of sexual assault at the Liberal Democrat conference.

Sussex Police confirmed a 57-year-old man had been arrested in relation to the alleged incident at The Grand Hotel in Brighton. He was later released, and will face no further action.

The incident was reported to have happened around midnight on Tuesday night at the party’s Glee Club — the Lib Dem members’ annual singalong on the fringes of the conference.

The Liberal Democrats said a person had been "suspended" from the party as it was reported that an allegation had been made relating to an incident. A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said:"He remains suspended from the party and this case will now be assessed under our independent complaints process."

Sussex Police said in a statement: "We arrested a 57-year-old man from Bristol after receiving a report of a sexual assault by touching on a woman at The Grand Hotel, Kings Road, Brighton at around midnight on Tuesday (17 September). A number of enquiries were completed, including a review of available CCTV footage and witness accounts.

"Following further engagement with the victim and an interview with the man under caution, a decision was made to release him with no further action to be taken."

Inspector Dan Eagle said: “Sussex Police are committed to tackling reports of sexual assaults and violence against women and girls (VAWG). Officers took robust action in investigating this incident. It has been concluded, pending any further information coming to light.”

The Lib Dems' Glee Club event sees party members, MPs and staff sing along to satirical songs from a hymn-style booklet. Among the songs is "Lettuce Liz", which is to the tune of The Beatles' Let it Be, and is a reference to an iceberg lettuce outlasting ex-PM Liz Truss's 49-day tenure in No10. Other tunes in the book include "Revoke and Remain", "The New Centrist Anthem" and "Socialiberaldemocraticexpiallydocious". Another infamous song is called "The Land", which is to the tune of Marching Through Georgia.

The party's conference kicked off in Brighton on Saturday and ended with a speech from leader Sir Ed Davey on Tuesday. He used his speech to announce he would campaign for a new Winterproof NHS Taskforce, which would manage a £1.5billion budget to build resilience across hospital wards, accident and emergency departments, ambulance services and patient discharging.

The party leader, on the fourth and final day of the conference, said: "We will urge the Government to act faster and be much bolder, because the challenges we face cannot be solved by burying our heads in the sand and pretending they don't exist - like the Conservatives do. But nor can they be solved with the pessimism and defeatism we're hearing from Labour. They will be solved the way Britain has always done in the past, by rising to our challenges with guts, determination, and hope.