CONSERVATIVE MP Ross Thomson will no longer be standing in the upcoming December election, following public allegations of sexual assault from a Labour MP.
Thomson released a statement on Twitter claiming that "anonymous and malicious allegations this year have made my life a living hell".
He continued: "I have therefore made the most difficult decision that I ever could make. I have decided that I will stand down as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Candidate for Aberdeen South."
Thomson thanked family, friends and staff for their support, concluding that the "General Election campaign is hugely important for the future of Scotland, and indeed the very future of our Union. Therefore, I wish my successor candidate all the very best in their efforts to protect Scotland's place in the UK and to sort Brexit".
Please see below a statement which I have released to the media this afternoon 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/UbURTHrskt
— Ross Thomson MP (@RossThomson_MP) November 3, 2019
His statement follows an allegation from Labour MP Paul Sweeney that Thomson groped him last October in a Commons bar.
READ MORE: Labour MP claims he was groped by Tory Ross Thomson in Commons Bar
Thomson was removed from the same bar in February this year after allegedly groping other men, which prompted the Labour MP to come forward.
Sweeney, who represents Glasgow North East, claims that Thomson "drunkenly" intruded on a conversation he was having with friends before pressing his hand down the front of the Labour MP's trousers.
Recalling the alleged incident, he said "I felt paralysed. It was just such a shocking thing. I was in a cold sweat, it was mortifying.
"Nobody knew where to look at the table. It’s embarrassing.
"In the back of my mind, I was thinking that if I just punched the guy, who knows where that could end up when there’s a bar full of journalists.
"I couldn’t fight, so I took flight."
Sweeney said he then went to sit with other MPs, when Thomson followed him across the room and continued touching him before eventually leaving the bar.
Thomsons denies the allegation.
A Scottish Tory spokesperson said: "We await the outcome of the Parliamentary Standards Commission investigation."
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