Key Labour figures have condemned the 'sexting' as 'really disturbing'

' messages - but said there was no crime

Simon Danczuk has been blasted by his Labour colleagues after being suspended from the party for sending lewd messages to a 17-year-old girl.

The MP, who has campaigned against child abuse, sexted Sophena Houlihan saying: 'You want me to spank you?' and 'God I'm horny!'

Miss Houlihan says she was bombarded with explicit messages for a month after she asked him for a job in his Rochdale constituency office this summer.

Mr Danczuk said today 'there is no fool like an old fool', adding that he had been 'stupid' to sext the young drama student but claimed it was at 'an extremely low point in my life' after his split from his 'selfie queen' wife Karen, 32.

Ken Livingstone, who will help decide if the MP is thrown out of Labour, called the messages 'really disturbing' but Tory Stewart Jackson said he was 'stitched up like a kipper by the Corbyn cronies'.

Target: Teenager Sophena Houlihan (pictured) was bombarded with sex messages by MP Simon Danczuk who told the 17-year-old she was 'cheeky' and asked if she wanted a 'spanking'

Earlier this week Mr Danczuk was dumped by his local councillor girlfriend Claire Hamilton (pictured together) after she saw the messages - and today he admitted he had been 'stupid'

Statement: Mr Danczuk had refused to comment last night but today admitted the 'stupid' decision had 'let down' people

He tweeted: 'Today's story, while not entirely accurate, refers to an extremely low point in my life.

'My behaviour was inappropriate and I apologise unreservedly to everyone I've let down. I was stupid and there's no fool like an old fool.

TIMELINE: HOW THE MP STARTED 'SEXTING' 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL July 2015: Sophena Houlihan claims she contacted Simon Danczuk on Facebook about a job in his Rochdale constituency office, near her home. Ten says later he invites her to his office. August 18: MP messages her to ask how old she is - and when she replies '17' he says 'Good for you!' September 20: Mr Danczuk and Miss Houlihan share explicit messages and the MP declares 'God I'm horny!' September 21: Steamy messages continue with Mr Danczuk saying he is aroused and asks: 'You want me to spank you?' September 30: Rochdale MP confirms he is in a relationship with local councillor Claire Hamilton after they are seen kissing at the party conference and says they have been dating for a short period. Miss Houlihan claims the messages continued after that. December 28: Mr Danczuk is dumped by his girlfriend after she discovers the messages and also claims the MP admitted kissing an aide at a Christmas party. December 29: Greater Manchester Police asked to probe 'inappropriate' messages but find MP has not committed any offences. Advertisement

'I'm more saddened that this episode could overshadow the important work we're doing to help Rochdale and that's where my focus lies'.

Mr Danczuk, an outspoken critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, could be expelled and deselected before the next election.

Mr Corbyn, speaking while visiting flood-hit York, said: 'We are concerned about things like this and that's why it should be investigated. We expect the highest standards from our MPs'.

A Labour Party spokesman added: 'The General Secretary of the Labour Party has today suspended Simon Danczuk's membership of the Party, pending an investigation into allegations published today'.

A senior Labour Party source suggested the main concern was about the woman having applied for a job with Mr Danzcuk, and him appearing to have 'taken advantage' of that.

'MPs have a responsibility to behave in a certain way, because of the position they are in,' the source said.

The MP will escape House of Commons sanctions because the code of conduct does not apply to what MPs do in their private lives.

Mr Danczuk, 49, a father of two, worked tirelessly to out late Rochdale MP Sir Cyril Smith as a paedophile since he took the seat in 2010.

Last year he was named campaigning MP of the year for his battle against child abuse but stepped back from his work in July after the break up of his marriage, which he claimed at the time had left him depressed, suicidal and also turned him to drink.

The new trouble in his private life involving Sophena Houlihan started in the same month.

Miss Houlihan claims she was offered advice about getting into politics after contacting the MP online and he even asked her to meet him personally.

But from August onwards she claims she was bombarded with explicit messages, including ones asking to 'spank' and 'discipline' her as well as requests for photographs.

In one message he also tells her he is aroused after she messaged him about fantasising about having sex. The sexts appear to have been sent late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Interaction: Miss Houlihan said she was shocked when the MP told her he was 'horny' in a string of explicit texts (his messages are in grey)

Question: In this exchange the MP allegedly offered to 'discipline' her and asked: 'Do you want me to spank you?'

Relationship: The messages started after he split with his wife Karen (pictured two days ago in her local park) when Miss Houlihan asked for a job

Ken Livingstone, who is on Labour's NEC, said the allegations were 'really disturbing'.

'I just find it so bizarre because he put himself at the centre of the investigation into sex abuse of young girls in his area and so on,' he told LBC.

Mr Livingstone said suspending people had been 'very rare' when he first sat on the NEC but had 'almost become an industry now' within the Labour party.

Conservative MPs claimed the suspension was down to Mr Danczuk's outspoken attacks on the Labour leader.

Michael Fabricant tweeted: 'Stupid, @SimonDanczuk may have been, but has he broken any law? Would he have lost #Labour membership if he hadn't been a critic of #Corbyn?'

Stewart Jackson tweeted: 'Simon Danczuk has obviously been foolish but he's also been stitched up like a kipper by the Corbyn cronies in @UKLabour.

'Given he's had some mental health issues, more compassionate thing would to have given him space & return to the issue next week.'

Split: The MP is believed to have been staying in a hotel since Miss Hamilton dumped him - pictured here the morning after sleeping in a £60-a-night room on Tuesday

Labour MP Jess Phillips today said of Mr Danczuk: 'If you have position of responsibility you have to employ it. If a 17-year-old chatted me up I would tell them to stop'.

Greater Manchester Police today confirmed the MP was accused of 'communicating inappropriately with a teenage girl', but officers 'determined that no offences have been committed'.

The messages were seen by Mr Danczuk's girlfriend Claire Hamilton, 32, who dumped him saying she believed he was messaging 'a lot' of other women online.

Miss Houlihan, a drama student who is a member of a vampire and goth website, said she was shocked by his messages - but also enjoyed the attention.

The teenager, who has just turned 18, said she was 'flattered' because she 'was in awe of him' but was later 'weirded out' because 'he is old enough to be my dad', she said.

The MP has not commented on the story - but a source close to him said they are 'two consenting adults'.

Miss Houlihan told The Sun: 'I could not believe what I was seeing when he first sent me a naughty message. I was shocked.

'He's an MP and shouldn't be behaving like that. He also had only just split up from Karen — and then he started dating Claire'.

The teenager, who lives with her mother, revealed that after a month of messaging Mr Danczuk asked her how old she was.

When she said '17', he is said to have replied: 'Good for you'.

The Rochdale MP, who led a campaign to expose his predecessor Sir Cyril Smith as a paedophile, later messaged Miss Houlihan after she posted a picture of herself in a dress on Instagram.

It was that point, she says, that their exchanges became more flirty and the two sent messages back and forth about three times a week.

Around the time of the Labour Party conference in September, Mr Danczuk is said to have suggested the pair 'meet up', before asking Miss Houlihan for a picture.

On September 18 he said they should 'meet up' and the student asked him: 'are you serious?' and he responded: 'I'm always serious! I rarely do non-serious! Let's meet up when you're ready.'

When she sent one of her wearing a revealing white body suit he allegedly wrote: 'Why aren't you here in Spain wearing that costume?! Lol', to which the teenager joked it would 'look better on your bedroom floor'.

Messages: Miss Houlihan has published some of the messages she was sent, including one where the MP asked her age and responded: 'Good for you!'

Explicit: In this message Mr Danczuk admits to being aroused in this exchange with the 17-year-old student

Shocked: Miss Houlihan said that she was shocked by the sexual nature of Mr Danczuk's messages - which the MP admits came when he split from his wife Karen, together left

Among the more sexually-explicit messages he sent including one where he told Miss Houlihan he was 'horny' and she was 'distracting' him from writing a book.

He also wrote: 'Right, let's get back to the sex then' when the conversation turned serious. Later he told her she was 'cheeky' and asked if she wanted him to 'spank' her, she claimed.

Mr Danczuk was reportedly worried he would 'get in trouble' if he said the wrong thing, only to suggest again that the pair meet up.

That never materialised, with the online relationship between the two fizzling out not long after Mr Danczuk went public about his new councillor girlfriend Claire Hamilton, 32.

She also went on to say she believes Mr Danczuk is messaging 'loads of girls', a reason Miss Hamilton gave for breaking up with him.

Officers from Rochdale's specialist sexual abuse unit are said to have launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a member of the public, with police contacting Miss Houlihan to ensure she was not being 'harassed' by the Labour MP.

Greater Manchester Police concluded there was no case to answer.

A force spokesman said: 'Greater Manchester Police received a report from a member of the public that a man from the Rochdale area had been communicating inappropriately with a teenage girl.

'This matter was looked into and it has been determined that no offences have been committed'.

Online presence: The teenager who 'sexted' the MP is a member of the niche website vampirefreaks.com

In March Mr Danczuk got into more trouble online when favourited hard-core porn on Twitter - but blamed it on a fault with his iPhone.

A constituent flagged up the blunder after realising the Labour MP had favourited a tweet linked to an account described as 'an 18+ Erotic account for posting sexy pictures of sexy women'.

He said a glitch with his smartphone caused it to favourite the image and he was out canvassing.

How gas fire fitter Simon Danczuk rose to become a crusading MP but was brought down by his complicated love life, heavy drinking and a very public mid-life crisis

Simon Danczuk's career as an MP is being destroyed by a catastrophic mid-life crisis, a string of inappropriate relationships and bouts of heavy drinking, it was claimed today.

Friends fear the twice-married father of two is in freefall after it emerged he could be expelled from the Labour party for sexting a 17-year-old.

The scandal came after a disastrous six months for the Rochdale politician, during which he lost his wife and spiralled into depression and drinking a bottle of wine a night.

In July his marriage of eight years to 'selfie queen' Karen, 32, famed for posing wearing low-cut tops, fell apart amid claims of cheating and a public slanging match.

Damage: Simon Danczuk's marriage to wife Karen ended this year and his ex-lover Claire Hamilton (pictured together) dumped him this week as the MP's career began to unravel

The 49-year-old blamed his tireless work to expose paedophile MP Cyril Smith for depression, suicidal thoughts and turning to drink - as well as an obsession with fitness and weightloss.

He said at the time: 'It took its toll on our marriage. I was struggling to sleep at night, sometimes only getting four hours sleep and you're not in the best of moods.

'I was getting angry at stuff I shouldn't be getting angry at, getting aggressive, perhaps drinking a bit too much., a full bottle of wine of an evening. At times suicidal thoughts as well.

'As an MP you go for an MOT once every parliament to see a doctor and I didn't disclose it then. I went to one a year ago and I did think about whether I should but I didn't. I don't know why.

'Returning back to parliament weighed heavily. It is a lonely place.'

In September he started a relationship with local councillor Claire Hamilton, 32, who he was seen kissing at the Labour conference. But four months later she dumped him after she accused him of cheating with an aide - and messaging numerous women online.

Their bizarre relationship took an even stranger turn this week when Miss Hamilton admitted kissing his ex Karen for 'about an hour' while the MP took photos on a drunken night out.

And now in a new twist he could now be expelled from Labour after his relationship with Sophena Houlihan, who came to him for a job in his constituency but he ended up sexting her for a month.

A friend defended him today and told the Guardian: 'The police say there's no case to answer and it's just a moment of weakness at a time when he was at a low ebb and probably drinking too much'.

Past: The MP left school at 16 and worked as a gas fire fitter (pictured in a tweet he posted earlier this month) before rising to become an MP - but a new scandal could see him thrown out of Labour

The Labour MP for Rochdale left school at 16 with no qualifications and worked as a gas fire fitter in a factory.

But after studying at night school he managed to get a degree and became a well known Lancashire councillor.

In 2007 he stood as a Parliamentary candidate but failed, only to take Rochdale from the Liberal Democrats in 2010. At the same time his research company went bust with £220,000 of debts.

On entering Parliament he dedicated himself to fighting child abuse and eventually exposed Sir Cyril Smith's abuse and won campaigning MP of the year for his work.

But despite making his mark his career in politics could be irreparably damaged by the latest scandal involving the 17-year-old drama student, but one friend hopes he will recover.

He said: 'He (Simon) never met this woman and has never spoken to her. Simon has much to offer the party.'