A senior aide to Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay has been charged with raping a woman in an attack that allegedly took place inside the MP’s office in the Houses of Parliament.
Samuel Armstrong, who was Mackinlay’s chief of staff and press spokesperson, has been accused to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, and was released on bail to appear in court on Friday 31st March.
It has been alleged that Samuel Armstrong was boozing with Tory aides on the tax-payer subsidised House of Lords’ terrace bar when he took a woman to the office of Craig Mackinlay MP and subsequently raped her. The police were called to the Palace of Westminster in the early hours of the morning after the victim raised the alarm.
A spokesman from the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Armstrong had been charged:
“Detectives from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command investigating an allegation of rape have charged a man.
‘Samuel Armstrong, 23, of Copt Hill, Danbury, was charged on Thursday, March 2 with two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.”
The office of Craig Mackinlay MP is yet to make a comment on the decision to charge Armstrong, who has been bailed and will appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 31st March.
