The Labour MP for Rochdale Simon Danczuk has had his party membership suspended. This is while Labour investigates allegations made in The Sun about the MP sending sexually explicit text messages to a 17-year-old girl.
He has been suspended while the party looks into the story. A Labour party spokesperson commented:
“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.”
The MP is known for being a harsh critic of his party, both under Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, and there will be many Labourites who won’t miss his relentless dissent – often voiced in the pages of rightwing papers.
Danczuk has also been a leading voice in the investigation of historic child abuse allegations in Westminster, having written a book about the crimes of the late Rochdale MP Cyril Smith.
He has responded to the story on Twitter, saying it is “not entirely accurate”, but revealing that it refers to “an extremely low point in my life”. He added:
“My behaviour was inappropriate & I apologise unreservedly to everyone I’ve let down. I was stupid & there’s no fool like an old fool . . . I’m more saddened that this episode could overshadow the important work we’re doing to help Rochdale & that’s where my focus lies.”
The claims about Danczuk’s contact with a 17-year-old appeared on the front page of the paper today:
Content from our partners
Related
