MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, Patrick Spencer, outside Westminster Magistrates' Court (Image: PA)

       MP Patrick Spencer appeared to smile to crowds as he arrived at court to face two counts of sexual assault allegedly carried out at London's famous Groucho Club. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich was charged after the alleged incidents at the well-known private members' club in August 2023.

       Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said the allegations involved two separate women. Mr Spencer's lawyers have said he "categorically" denies the charges against him and will defend the allegations "robustly" in court. Appearing at the court, he confirmed his name and date of birth before pleading not guilty to the offences.

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       Mr Spencer got his seat for the Conservative Party at the 2024 General Election, securing a majority of 4,290.

       After the charges emerged, the party suspended the MP, who is now sitting as an Independent in Parliament.

       He was not an MP at the time of the alleged sexual assaults.

       The MP's website says Mr Spencer lives with his wife and two sons in Suffolk.

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       Before he became an MP, Mr Spencer worked in finance for private equity firm IPGL, which is chaired by his father, the former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer.

       He later worked at the Centre for Social Justice think tank before taking on a role as a senior adviser at the Department for Education.

       Mr Spencer has also been a school governor, a mentor with the Social Mobility Foundation and sat on the Living Wage Foundation's Advisory Council, according to his website.

       During his maiden speech in July, he said the "most important" thing to people across his constituency was restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to Britain's political system.