Andrew Griffiths says he has had mental health problems since he was abused as a boy

A disgraced MP forced to resign as a minister for sending 2,000 sexually explicit text messages to two women has said he was having a manic episode linked to being sexually abused as a child.

Andrew Griffiths, 48, said in an interview with the Sunday Times that he planned to kill himself after he was caught sexting a 28-year-old bar worker and her friend earlier this year.

Speaking for the first time about the episode, the Tory MP for Burton said he had a history of mental health problems since he was abused when he was eight years old by a 15-year-old boy.

“I don’t for one second try to excuse what I did,” he told the newspaper. “The texts were horrible and I apologise hugely for them, and to everyone I have hurt. I am ashamed and embarrassed.

“But I need to put into context why it happened, so that in 15 years, when my daughter reads this interview, she’ll understand exactly why I found myself in this terrible situation.”

Griffiths, a former chief of staff for Theresa May, resigned as a minister after the Sunday Mirror revealed his texts – in which he referred to himself as “daddy” – in July.

The MP, whose wife gave birth to their first child in April, sent the women £700 for X-rated pictures and videos and asked them to tie each other up.

The Guardian has also revealed how Griffiths was the subject of complaints of inappropriate touching and bullying by several Tory colleagues stretching back several years before he was promoted to May’s government in July 2016.

The Sunday Times interview comes days before a Conservative party disciplinary panel is due to rule on whether Griffiths should be removed from the party. His refusal to stand down as an MP has angered some Tory colleagues and triggered protests in his constituency.

Andrew Griffiths was made minister despite 'touching' allegations Read more

Griffiths said he felt he owed his constituents an explanation for his behaviour. “While the texts were wrong and the result of my mental breakdown, my battle with my own mental health has been ongoing for decades,” he said.

He spent 31 days in a psychiatric hospital when the texts were exposed, he said, where he was reportedly diagnosed with an adjustment disorder. In treatment he said he “confided aloud for the first time in my life that as a child I was abused by an older boy of about 15”.

“He would invite me to play in the garage of his home and abuse me,” he said. “My mum and dad were born in 1922 and 1925. Sex was not something to be discussed and certainly not with a young boy.” Griffiths said a friend found him researching ways to kill himself and looking at his death-in-service benefits.

“Two things saved my life,” he said. “The first was the thought of what suicide would do to my daughter and wife. The second was the chief whip, who contacted parliament’s doctor and got me into hospital.”

• In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.