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Dan Norris, a Labour MP and mayor of the West of England, has been arrested on suspicion of sexual offences and rape.
The Labour party said it had suspended the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham on Saturday after it learned of his arrest.
Avon and Somerset Police said that a man in his 60s was arrested on Friday and had since been released on conditional bail.
The force said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl. Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.”
The investigation, led by the force’s rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, is ongoing and “at an early stage”, the statement added, according to the Press Association. “The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour party upon being informed of his arrest.”
The party said it could not comment further while a police investigation is under way. Norris has lost the parliamentary whip, according to people familiar with the matter.
Norris was first elected to the House of Commons as MP for Wansdyke, Somerset, in 1997 and served that constituency for 13 years before losing the seat in 2010. He was appointed as rural affairs minister by Gordon Brown during his premiership.
In 2021 he was elected West of England mayor, before returning to Parliament in a redrawn Somerset constituency at the general election last July.
His arrest was first reported by The Sun on Sunday.
Norris did not immediately respond to request for comment.