Lib Dem MP quits the party to fight sex attack claims, but spy scandal backbencher won't give up seat

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Publication date: 4 June 2013

Mike Hancock refuses to stand down from Parliament after quitting

He has vowed to clear his name in a High Court civil case against him

Stood down from party after meeting with chief whip Alistair Carmichael

By GERRI PEEV

PUBLISHED: 04:25 GMT, 4 June 2013 | UPDATED: 07:38 GMT, 4 June 2013

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Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock last night stood down from the Lib Dems to fight allegations of sexual assault

Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock has quit his party last night over allegations of sexual assault.

However, the Portsmouth South MP – who strongly denies the claims – has refused to stand down from Parliament.

He has vowed to clear his name in a High Court civil case against him made by a female constituent.

The move will add pressure on the Government to introduce a promised reform to allow constituents to recall rogue MPs – forcing them to face a by-election.

Mr Hancock, 67, stood down from the Lib Dems after a meeting with the party’s chief whip, Alistair Carmichael.

In an exchange of letters, the MP wrote: ‘I have decided to temporarily withdraw from the parliamentary party in the Commons until the civil court case against me has been concluded.

He added that he would ‘vigorously defend my position and that I completely refute the allegations made against me’.

Mr Hancock – who is also a senior Portsmouth councillor – vowed to ‘continue to work hard for my constituents’.

He added: ‘I’m doing this in the best interests of the party nationally and in Portsmouth and for my family.’

The MP was arrested in 2010 in connection with the case but police decided there was not enough evidence to mount a criminal case.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said last week that the allegations were ‘very serious’ and he could not ‘sit on his hands’ while the courts examined the case.

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Mr Hancock said last week he had ‘no intention of allowing any circumstances to bully me out of my job’.

He said: ‘I will go at a time of my choosing or if the people decide to get rid of me.’

A Lib Dem spokesman said last night: ‘Mike Hancock has chosen to resign the party whip while he defends himself against very serious allegations in a High Court civil action.

Mr Hancock's Parliamentary assistant, Katia Zatuliveter (left), was accused of being a spy. Nick Clegg (right) last week said the sexual assault allegations were 'very serious' and he could not 'sit on his hands'

‘Mike Hancock strenuously denies the allegations made in the civil case and intends to clear his name in court.’

In a letter to Mr Hancock, Mr Carmichael said the MP faced ‘very serious allegations and the party takes them very seriously’.

'Mike Hancock strenuously denies the allegations made in the civil case and intends to clear his name in court'

- Lib Dem spokesman

Mr Carmichael said in the letter: ‘I realise that you have denied them consistently and continue to do so.

'If, at the end of your case, your name is cleared then I would fully expect to have you back in the parliamentary party to play again your role in the Commons.

‘I have no doubt you will continue to work hard for your constituents in Portsmouth South as you have always done.’

Mr Hancock was also the subject of controversy when his Parliamentary assistant, Russian Katia Zatuliveter, was accused by the security services of being a spy passing information to Moscow.

However, the 26-year-old, who admitted to having an affair with the MP while he sat on the Defence Select Committee, was granted leave to remain in the UK by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in November 2011.

This was despite evidence from senior defector Oleg Gordievsky, 72, a colonel who ran the KGB bureau in London. He claimed Miss Zatuliveter was a ‘very conscientious worker’ for the Russian Intelligence Services who passed them ‘the most important military secrets’.

Persons: Michael Hancock, MP