Michael Fabricant’s tweet around one of his partners who was captured on doubt of assault and rape was denounced as “dumb” and “obtuse” by another Tory MP. The post later seemed to have been erased.
Michael Fabricant said there would be “areas of strength for a” of Tories going to Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday to demonstrate they were not the unidentified man, who has been asked by the party to avoid parliament.
In a tweet, Mr Fabricant, 71, expressed “I’ll be there!” trailed by a winking face emoticon.
The man, who is in his 50s, was captured on doubt of profane attack, rape, assault, maltreatment of position of trust and offense in open office.
He was subsequently delivered on bail.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart let the BBC know that Mr Fabricant’s tweet was “imbecilic, it’s unfeeling, and it endeavors to downplay what is happening”.
He added: “I despair when I read stuff like that.”
Angela Rayner, Labor’s appointee Labor pioneer, said it was “odd” and her associate Wes Streeting, the shadow wellbeing secretary, said “this isn’t a joke”.
Chris Bryant, the Labor MP who seats the Commons guidelines panel, said: “This shows totally dishonorable negligence for the supposed casualties.
“You ought to bring this down right away.”
Work MP Charlotte Nichols expressed: “Probably the grimmest thing about working in Westminster isn’t simply the routineness with which claims of assault and rape come up, yet the reality individuals like Fabricant here minimize these as a chuckling matter or peculiar piece of tattle total with [that] emoticon.”
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect worker’s guild – which addresses many staff working in parliament – told Sky News Mr Fabricant’s tweet was “a phenomenal arraignment both on his own judgment and the more extensive culture for certain parliamentarians”.
Mr Fabricant’s unique tweet later seemed to have been erased.
In a resulting post, he said: “Nobody is downplaying assault or attack. A long way from it.
“Yet, the individuals who need to add something to a remark will imagine to do so no big deal either way. They are proficient offense takers.”
Prior in the day Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was stressing that “shocking” claims were again being made about a parliamentarian.
