Man arrested over alleged rape in Houses of Parliament

A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman at the Houses of Parliament in the early hours of Friday.

The man, who was bailed until mid-January, is not an MP, the Metropolitan Police say. Reports claim he works for a Conservative MP.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: "Detectives from the sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command are investigating an allegation of rape at the Houses of Parliament in the early hours of Friday 14 October.

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"A 23-year-old man was arrested that same day on suspicion of rape. He has been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in mid-January 2017."

The alleged attack is said to have taken place inside the MP's office, which was reportedly searched by six officers and sealed as a crime scene.

A House of Commons spokesperson said: "We are aware of an incident on the parliamentary estate which is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service.

"Parliament is working closely with the police on their investigation and we cannot comment further while this is ongoing."

According to the Daily Telegraph, this is thought to be the first time a woman has made a complaint of rape taking place in Parliament.

A spokesperson for the MP for whom the alleged attacker worked said he was "awaiting further information from the police before commenting further".