UK House of Commons deputy speaker resigns amid indecent assault

Deputy speaker of Britain’s House of Commons has resigned after being charged with a string of offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Conservative MP Nigel Evans is accused of eight offences dating between 2002 and 2013 and taking place in London and Lancashire.

Evans was initially arrested in May on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. A month later in June, he was re-arrested for three further offences of indecent assaults.

He was nabbed for a third time on Tuesday over fresh allegations of indecent assault and sexual touching.

The 55-year-old British MP, who represents the Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire, is expected to appear before Preston Magistrates Court on Wednesday, September 18.

“After careful consideration, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to prosecute Mr. Evans,” said Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer.

Evans has denied the sexual offences against seven alleged victims.

Earlier this month, figures by Palace of Westminster IT bosses showed that computers at both lower and upper Houses of Parliament in Britain have been used to log on to ‘adult’ websites on over 300,000 occasions during the past year.