A deputy speaker of Britain's lower house of parliament was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of raping one man and sexually assaulting another, according to media reports. Media said Nigel Evans, a lawmaker in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party, was being questioned over alleged attacks on two men in their twenties.
Evans, 55, is the Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley in Lancashire, north-west England as well as one of the House of Commons' three deputy speakers. Lancashire Police said in a statement: "A 55-year-old man from Pendleton in Lancashire has today, Saturday, May 4 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape and sexual assault."
Evans revealed he was gay in 2010, eight years after he was elected, saying he was "tired of living a lie". As a deputy speaker, the Welsh lawmaker can stand in the absence of the speaker, whose job is to keep order during parliamentary debates.