Greater Manchester MP Ivan Lewis has been suspended from the Labour Party.

The MP for Bury South was being formally investigated after allegations that back in 2010 at a party fundraising event he assaulted a nineteen year old by repeatedly touching her leg and inviting her back to his house.

The allegations, that the MP denies, surfaced on the news website Buzzfeed earlier this month when the women concerned made the allegation and she has now confirmed  that she had since lodged a formal complaint with the party.

According to the complainant, she had been discouraged from formally complaining about unwanted attention from Lewis by members of then-leader Ed Miliband’s team.

A spokesman for the party said:

“The Labour Party takes all allegations of sexual harassment extremely seriously. Ivan Lewis is currently suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.”

The MP has represented Bury South since 1997 and has served in various roles in the shadow cabinet, most recently as shadow Northern Ireland secretary until September 2015. He served as a minister in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments.

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