MP accused of Groucho Club sex assault ‘bit of a pest’, says alleged victim

One of the alleged victims said an MP was “a bit of a troublemaker” before groping two women at the Groucho club in London.

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer is accused of grabbing women from behind and sexually assaulting them during a night out at a Soho private members club in August 2023.

One of the women told Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday she was “shocked” when a man grabbed her breasts as he persistently tried to chat her up and buy her a cocktail.

“As I was leaving the bar with my drink, he put his arms around my arms and touched my breasts,” she said.

“I kept walking, I was shocked, I kept walking, I wanted to walk away.”

He told jurors he didn’t know who the man was and described him as “a bit of a troublemaker.”

Spencer, 38, who lost the Conservative Party whip in Parliament after being twice accused of sexual assault, denies the allegations and says he did not touch the breasts of his alleged victims.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain, the woman said she went to the Groucho Club with her husband to watch a music show on August 12, 2023, and went to a Soho bar to order a drink around 11.30pm.

She said: “He started talking to me, general conversation, asking me ‘Are you married?’ I don’t remember how the conversation went until I asked: I thought this was a bit personal.

“That’s when I thought I needed to get away.”

She described Spencer as “pretty lively” and friendly, but said she “felt like she was invading my personal space” when Spencer started questioning her about her marriage.

The woman told the court Spencer drank four cocktails at the bar and he “insisted” she try one of the drinks.

“I didn’t want it,” he said.

“He was very persistent even though I said ‘No’ several times.

“He was very persistent and I felt like I couldn’t leave until I took a sip of my drink.”

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said that as she walked towards the smoking area to join her husband to continue the conversation, the man followed her out of the bar and into an alcove.

She said the sexual assault occurred when she later returned to the bar.

She later told another woman about the incident, but she did not want to tell about it because she was afraid of her husband’s reaction.

Another woman entered the room and “overheard me and said, ‘The same thing happened to me.’”

Spencer’s lawyer, Eleanor Laws KC, showed the footage when cross-examining the woman and argued it showed the defendant “barely touching” her.

The woman insisted there had been contact and said she had “walked away from him”.

She added that he touched her “for a millisecond and when I felt a touch I moved away.”

The court heard Spencer was confronted about his behavior and asked to leave the Groucho Club, and the man seen on CCTV was identified the following year.

Prosecutor Polly Dyer, who opened the case on Monday, said Spencer was accused of being “unsteady on his feet” and slurring his words as he tried to talk to one of the women.

CCTV inside Groucho’s shows Spencer sitting with friends and wandering around the bar area.

The footage also shows him approaching one of the alleged victims from behind and allegedly grabbing her breasts as she wrapped her arms around them before pushing her hands away.

Spencer can then be seen making a gesture with a clenched fist as the woman walks away.

Spencer, whose full name is Michael Patrick Spencer, was elected as a member of parliament from the Conservative Party in the 2024 general elections.

The Suffolk-based politician was suspended from the Conservative Party and had his whip withdrawn last year after accusations of sexual assault were brought.

When interviewed by police, he described his behavior that night as “overly friendly” but insisted he did not intend to touch either woman “inappropriately”.

The court heard Spencer made two accusations of sexual assault and denied touching both women’s breasts.

The trial continues.