Solihull MP Julian Knight speaks out after being cleared by police of sexual assault allegation

Conservative MP Julian Knight has been cleared by police of sexual assault after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan Police last year.

But the Conservative party said on Wednesday that it will not restore the whip to Knight.

The Solihull MP had the whip removed following the complaint in December. Chief Whip Simon Hart said the complaint was made to the force on Wednesday, 7 December, and he removed the whip “with immediate effect”. It meant that the senior MP for Solihull was suspended from the party and no longer sit in the Common as a Tory.

Knight, who has been an MP since 2015 and is also the chair of the Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, now sits as an independent MP.

MP statement

Posting a statement on his Twitter account on Wednesday (March 29) after he was cleared of the claim, Knight wrote: “The fact is that there was never anything for the police to investigate. This was a single, false and malicious allegation initially brought to them by third parties, each of whom had their own clear motives for doing so.

“In publicly naming me in connection with the allegation, the Conservative Whips Office acted disgracefully and in breach of natural justice by removing my anonymity. Their actions meant my name was dragged through the mud and my good reputation immeasurably damaged. The conduct of one person in the Whips Office, and the language used towards me, was particularly egregious. Had the police taken the simple step at outset of interviewing me under caution, they would have seen that the allegation was false and scandalous . Instead ,they waited four months, without ever talking to me, before deciding there was nothing for them to investigate.

“I have been left effectively to prove my innocence through my public statements and letters to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Chief Whip. That cannot be right. It is now my intention to use every legal route available to pursue those inside and outside Parliament involved in having this allegation brought against me.

“Meanwhile I look forward to the immediate return of the Conservative Whip so that I can again represent my constituents on behalf of the Party, as a member of which, they elected me.”