THE investigation into the alleged sexual of a rival politician by former Scots Tory MP Ross Thomson has been widened to include a second claim.
Thomson, 32, is being probed by the Westminster standards watchdog over accusations he fondled Paul Sweeney at parly bar Strangers last October.
It is claimed he groped the ex-Labour MP over his trousers while drunk, before trying to shove his hands down his pants.
And the investigation into the alleged incident has now been extended to include a second sexual assault claim from eight months before.
Cops were called to the same pub in February amid claims Thomson, who had been Aberdeen South MP, was drunkenly groping men.
The Met Police at the time confirmed officers responded to a “report of sexual touching” and spoke to “three men in their 20s and 30s.”
No arrests were made and a report to the standards commissioner about the alleged incident was dropped as the complainant – an SNP researcher – was not directly involved.
But, according to The Times, investigators on the Sweeney case have heard evidence relating to February’s claims.
The commissioner has since spoken to witnesses from Strangers as the probe has been extended.
Ross Thomson’s ex speaks out in support of accuser over ‘grope’ claims
This has prompted speculation that investigators are examining potential patterns of behaviour.
Thomson, who quit over the allegations in November, has strenuously denied all the allegations made against him.
And he accused Sweeney, who lost his Glasgow North East seat in December’s elections, of a “politically motivated smear”.
But Thomson’s former partner spoke out in support of his accuser.
In a now-deleted tweet, Douglas Mathewson, who was in a civil partnership with the Scottish Tory, praised Sweeney’s courage in coming forward.
If Thomson, a key Scots ally of Boris Johnson, is found guilty, many of the usual sanctions available to the commissioner cannot be applied.
As he is no longer an MP, the only possible punishment is to strip him of the parliamentary pass usually available to former members of the Commons.
Sweeney claimed he was left “paralysed” by the shock alleged incident in October.
And yesterday, he hit out at trolls who have abused him online after he made his complaint.
Most read in News
Sharing a now-deleted tweet, he said: “It was ‘disgraceful’ and ’embarrassing’ for me to report a Scottish Conservative MP to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
“That is the view expressed by this Scottish Conservative Party member, and he isn’t the first to express such views.”
The commissioner does not comment on live investigations. The Scottish Sun Online has approached Ross Thomson for comment.
Sign up to Times+ here.