Ex-MP Charlie Elphicke told woman she had led him on, assault trial hears

A woman who has accused a former Tory MP of sexually assaulting her while she was working at parliament wept as she testified at his trial, which heard that he accused her of misleading him about her romantic intentions after she spurned his alleged advances.

The trial of Charlie Elphicke was told on Thursday that he got in touch with her after the alleged incident in 2016 and asked her: “Why were you so up for it in the beginning?”

He was alleged to have told the woman: “I’m so naughty sometimes” after the alleged sexual assault at Westminster, Southwark crown court heard on Wednesday as a jury watched a police recording of an interview with the woman.

Further recordings of claims made by her were played on Thursday to the court, which was told of a second alleged assault later in the year when she said that he slid his hand up her leg to her groin.

She said [in the recording] that she had been prompted to come forward following news reports about claims of alleged misconduct by MPs and after learning that the head of the civil service was also conducting an investigation.

Elphicke, who represented the Kent constituency of Dover and Deal from 2010 until last year, denies three counts of sexual assault, twice against the young parliamentary worker and on one occasion against a woman at his family’s central London home in 2007.

He lost the Tory whip in 2017 when the allegations were referred to the police but was reinstated in December 2018 before a vote of confidence in the then prime minister, Theresa May.

The married father-of-two is alleged to have first assaulted the parliamentary worker, who was in her early 20s, as they shared a bottle of champagne in Westminster in 2016.

She had been invited for an evening drink with the then-Dover MP, who is alleged to have slipped his hand under her top as they chatted about music.

The woman gave evidence to the court in person on Thursday after the recording of the police interview was played, and was asked about the content of texts that showed Elphicke had contacted her following the first assault to see if she was ok and if they could meet.

The court was told she agreed to go for a coffee with him to explain that he had “crossed the line”.

But in a text to her friend after the meeting, in whom she had confided about the alleged assault, she said: “Didn’t go to plan. Now he wants to take me shopping tomorrow. F***.”

Jurors heard details on Wednesday of a police recording of an interview with the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who said the then MP had repeatedly told her he liked her.

“He said: ‘I really do like you, you know,’” she told police.

“I thought: ‘Fuck, what’s happening?’ It all happened so fast.”

Police were also told of a second alleged assault, later in 2016, when Elphicke slid his hand up her leg to her groin.

Earlier this week, the other woman who has accused him of sexual assault described being afraid during an alleged incident at his home in 2007 in which he allegedly groped and pursued her before she locked herself in a room.

Elphicke denies claims made by the woman, while his defence counsel, Ian Winter QC, accused the alleged victim of inconsistencies in her evidence.

The case continues.