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British Labour MP suspended after being accused of sending inappropriate texts to teenager

A British politician has been suspended from the Labour Party after being accused of sending...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.50 31 Dec 2015


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British Labour MP suspended af...

British Labour MP suspended after being accused of sending inappropriate texts to teenager

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.50 31 Dec 2015


Share this article


A British politician has been suspended from the Labour Party after being accused of sending inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old woman.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed the suspension.

Simon Danczuk, an MP for Rochdale in Greater Manchester and leading campaigner against child sex abuse, immediately apologised.

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He tweeted:

One of Mr Corbyn's fiercest critics, Mr Danczuk is facing allegations in The Sun that he bombarded Sophena Houlihan, a performing arts student, after she contacted him about a job.

Announcing his suspension, a Labour spokesman said: "The general secretary of the Labour Party has today suspended Simon Danczuk's membership of the party, pending an investigation into allegations published in the media today.

"A full investigation will now take place under the authority of the National Executive Committee, which will be responsible for determining any further action."

Mr Danczuk immediately responded by declaring on Twitter: "Today's Sun story, while not entirely accurate, refers to an extremely low point in my life."

A minute later, he tweeted an apology and then added: "I'm more saddened that this episode could overshadow the important work we're doing to help Rochdale & that's where my focus lies."

According to The Sun, the teenager, now 18, said the 49-year-old MP sent her numerous messages after he split from his wife Karen, who in recent years became almost as famous as her husband because of her own revealing selfies.

Miss Houlihan told the newspaper: "When I first got in touch I never expected the messages to get so graphic. At the time I played along with it, but now I feel like he duped me.

"I was keen for a career in politics and he is a very high profile MP and I was in awe of him."


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