Labour MP Simon Danczuk has apologised unreservedly over allegations that he sent sexually explicit text messages to a 17-year-old girl, for which he is facing a Labour party investigation of his conduct.

Simon Danczuk: a campaigning MP with a complex personal life Read more

According to a report in the Sun, Danczuk, who has been the Labour MP for Rochdale since 2010, sent the messages to 17-year-old Sophena Houlihan after she asked him for a job as a case worker in his constituency office.



The MP, who was suspended by his party on New Year’s Eve, said his behaviour had been inappropriate and stupid, and apologised to anyone he had let down, adding: “There’s no fool like an old fool.”

The MP has been a prominent campaigner against child sexual exploitation and played a leading role in exposing his predecessor as MP for Rochdale, Sir Cyril Smith, as a paedophile.

A Labour spokesperson 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.”

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, speaking on a visit to see flood damage in York, said: “Simon has had his membership of the party suspended. He will now be investigated by the national executive.

“The decision was made this morning. The reasons are his conduct, which will now be investigated. I don’t want to say any more than that because I don’t want to prejudice the independent investigation.”

The Conservative MPs Stewart Jackson and Michael Fabricant tweeted that they suspected Danczuk had been swiftly suspended due to criticism of the Labour leadership.

Jackson wrote that Danczuk had obviously been foolish but that he had also been “stitched up like a kipper by the Corbyn cronies” in the party. Fabricant said the MP had been stupid, but questioned whether he had broken the law and whether he would have been suspended had he not been an outspoken critic of Corbyn.

Stewart Jackson MP (@Stewart4Pboro) #SimonDanczuk has obviously been foolish but he's also been stitched up like a kipper by the Corbyn cronies in @UKLabour

Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) 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?

Asked whether Danczuk’s suspension had anything to do with his trenchant opposition to his leadership, Corbyn said the MP had been suspended because of Thursday’s media reports and nothing else.

Speaking to LBC radio on Thursday afternoon, the former Labour mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, described the allegations as bizarre, but said he could not say too much because he was on the party’s national executive committee and that he “might have to take the final decision about whether he’s allowed to resume his party membership or whether we expel him”.

Livingstone, a supporter of Corbyn, added: “I’m not so much tempted to look at Simon as a Labour MP but as a character. He’s always seemed to be absolutely obsessed with keeping himself in the headlines, so I’m not surprised he’s done some erratic things. I just don’t see what anybody of that age can find attractive in a 17-year-old.”

Responding to the news of his suspension, the MP tweeted:

He added:

Friends of Danczuk said he had never met the 17-year-old girl at the centre of the claims and pointed out that there was never a serious suggestion of an inappropriate relationship.

“In the history of parliamentary sex scandals, this is not a significant episode. Unless Corbyn is instilling a new moral code that he hasn’t mentioned before, Simon will be cleared,” a friend said.

Tweeting to Danczuk’s political oponents, the Labour MP Jess Phillips – who has herself been openly critical of Corbyn – said: “Please, please, no matter what you think of Danczuk, don’t delight in this. This is not political capital. No one wins.”

She later tweeted to deny that she was defending the MP, saying: “I’m not defending him. I think he’s a tosser if this is true.” She added: “If you have position of responsibility you have to Employ it. If 17-year-old chatted me up I would tell them to stop.”

Danczuk allegedly told Houlihan that he was “horny” and asked her if she wanted “spanking”. Houlihan told the Sun: “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.”

Greater Manchester police confirmed that they had looked into a report that Danczuk had been “communicating inappropriately with a teenage girl” after a complaint was made to them on 29 December 2015. “This matter was looked into and it has been determined that no offences have been committed,” they said in a statement.

Danczuk has been widely praised for his work exposing Smith, the late Liberal MP, as a paedophile. He co-wrote a book on Smith and first named him as a child abuser in parliament, months before the police confirmed that the late MP should have been prosecuted over abuse claims.

Danczuk has also attracted criticism from the left of the party for his views on immigration and criticisms of Corbyn since his election as Labour leader.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Sun front page from 31 December 2015. Photograph: The Sun



