MP accused of ‘fist pump in celebration’ after alleged private members club sex assaults

An MP accused of sexually assaulting two women at London’s Groucho Club has refused to “wag his fists in celebration” after one of the alleged abuses.

Patrick Spencer, 38, is said to have come up behind two women and “covered” their breasts during a night out at a private members club in August 2023.

The 38-year-old MP, who was elected to the Conservative Party in 2024 to represent Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, described himself as “gregarious” and “hugging” and admitted his hands touched one of the women’s breasts.

But while he aimed for her waist, he insisted the contact was incidental and flatly denied touching the other woman’s breasts.

CCTV footage from inside Soho bar Groucho shows Spencer raising his arm, apparently clenching his fist, following the second alleged sexual assault.

In the police interview, Spencer suggested this could be interpreted as a “rude” and “childish” gesture towards friends sitting nearby.

Prosecutor Polly Dyer suggested to Spencer that this would be seen as “a celebratory punch-up”, but the MP said she disagreed.

“It’s a comment, but it’s not my comment,” he said.

He told the jury in the witness box that his behavior with women that night had been “wildly misjudged” and that it was “absolutely inappropriate to hug someone like that, in that context”.

When asked the reason for this action, he claimed that it happened when he pushed the woman’s arms and that he was “embarrassed and surprised”.

He told the court: “It’s embarrassing; having someone walk away from you can be interpreted as shameful.”

Spencer added: “Something happened and I’m gesturing most of the time anyway. I think that’s what happened.”

“My arms were thrown down and thrown aside.

“I looked openly at them (her friends) to see if they saw this embarrassing moment.”

During the police interview Spencer was shown CCTV and described his actions as “a moment of utter stupidity” before apologizing to the two women.

In the witness box on Wednesday, he described himself as “overly friendly, overly enthusiastic and overly enthusiastic” that night, but insisted he wasn’t trying to “feel out”.

Spencer told the court he drank red wine with his father, billionaire Conservative donor Lord Michael Spencer, at lunch that day before drinking two beers at the England-Wales rugby match at Twickenham.

The politician said he believed he had another glass of wine with dinner at the Groucho club before downing two rounds of negroni cocktails.

Two alleged victims told the court Spencer was “persistent” about drinking with him, with one describing him as a “pest”.

Spencer described it as “bizarre behaviour” and told the court: “I wouldn’t do that. I’ll say I absolutely didn’t do it.”

He also flatly denied asking one of the women “terrible” questions about her marriage.

Spencer broke down in tears in the dock when his wife Anna testified later in the day, describing him as “kind, gentle and caring” and praising his parenting of their two children.

“He doesn’t always know how to react in the moment and he can’t always read the room perfectly,” she said.

“Patrick is naturally quite awkward, but he is very intelligent and has done a great job of learning social situations.

“I believe the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is Patrick’s good qualities.

“If you don’t know him, I can understand that some of his behavior, some of the things he says, and some of his facial expressions are a little strange.

“Sometimes he says the wrong things.”

Ms. Spencer described her husband as outgoing and “fun,” emphasizing that he had many female friends and that she had never seen him engage in inappropriate or sexual behavior.

Spencer, who was suspended from membership in the Conservative Party after being accused, has denied two accusations of sexual assault.

The trial continues.