Tory MP Nigel Evans arrested after sex assault claims by two men

MPs from across the political spectrum have expressed shock after the House of Commons deputy speaker and Conservative MP Nigel Evans was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.

Detectives visited his home [...] on Saturday morning following allegations made by two men who were in their 20s at the time of the alleged attacks, which are said to have taken place at the property in July 2009 and March 2013. [...]

Evans is openly gay, having come out as homosexual in 2010, the year he was elected to his current post. [...] In an interview shortly after announcing he was gay he said he regretted supporting section 28, the law introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government banning the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities in schools.

He said: "I was confused about how to protect youngsters at school. The law did the opposite of what was intended. We shouldn't have been telling young people that being gay was wrong." [...]

"I realised I was gay when I was about 12 or 13, though at the time I wished I wasn't. I thought I might just be going through a phase and that it would fade away. I had a girlfriend."

source: Article 'Tory MP Nigel Evans arrested after sex assault claims by two men' by Lin Jenkins; www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/04/nigel-evans-arrested-sex-assault-claims; The Observer; 5 May 2013