Tory MP’s aide ‘raped woman and called her a b***h after she rejected his advances’

A Conservative MP’s chief of staff raped a woman in his boss’s office after calling her a “b***h” when she rebuffed his advances, a court has heard.

Samuel Armstrong, 24, is alleged to have “abused his position” when he attacked the woman, who also worked in Parliament, after drinking with her at the Sports and Social Bar in the Palace of Westminster.

Armstrong, an aide for South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, is said to have taken advantage of his victim, who is in her 20s, when she fell asleep as they were alone in his boss’s office.

Southwark Crown Court heard he played jazz music, then began kissing and touching the woman before asking her back to his flat.

But when she told him “no”, Armstrong repeatedly called her a “b***h” before taking off her clothes and assaulting her, jurors were told.

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Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said he raped her twice, adding: “In doing so, he abused his role and his position.

“She, in distress, walked and ran through the corridors of Westminster, eventually finding and telling cleaning staff what had happened.

“He went out another way, using his pass and sending her messages, one of which suggested that he was concerned and that she contact him if she had ‘any issues’.”

Armstrong, from Danbury in Essex, denies two counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration on October 14 last year.

Jurors were told he claims what happened took place with “full consent”.

The court heard Armstrong worked as a volunteer activist for the Conservative Party while at university, before joining Mr Mackinlay’s staff when he was elected in 2015.

On October 13, Armstrong and the complainant were drinking with others at the Sports and Social Bar. At about 9.40pm they went to the roof garden terrace so she could see Big Ben, before returning to the bar, the jury heard.

She said she had had four or five drinks, but did not think she was “tipsy”, describing the mood as “very jolly” and “playful”.

At around last orders in the bar, Armstrong, the complainant and two others went to the leader’s terrace in the Lords office to drink wine, the court heard.

The prosecutor said neither looked particularly affected by drink at this stage.

Jurors were told Armstrong and the woman then went to Mr Mackinlay’s office in the Norman Shaw building, where Armstrong played jazz music on a laptop.

Jurors were told they sat and talked on a three-seater sofa, where she fell asleep.

Mr Heywood said: “This time is where it began to go wrong, in the early hours. It is the prosecution case, the defendant took advantage of the situation and of her obvious and open friendliness towards him.”

The court heard Armstrong began kissing and touching the woman before asking her to come back to his flat in Clapham, south London.

When she mumbled “no” several times, Armstrong’s manner changed and he repeatedly called her a “b***h”, jurors were told.

The court heard she “froze” as he became “physical”, taking off her clothes and assaulting her. The prosecutor said the woman asked: “What are you doing?”

Armstrong allegedly told her: “This is what you want.”

Mr Heywood said: “In saying that he was not, of course, genuinely speaking for her or reflecting any truth of the situation. He was imposing himself on her.”

The woman was seen on CCTV running through the corridors of Westminster, leaving through Portcullis House at about 2.05am.

She asked a cleaner to call police when he saw her “shaking and crying” near the closed Sports and Social Bar, jurors heard.

The court heard she suffered a number of bruises and abrasions to her genitals, arms and mouth, which were consistent with, but do not prove, the allegations.

Armstrong was arrested at 5.39am and later gave a prepared statement to police, which said: “I deny the allegation of rape and wish to say that any contact between (the complainant) and I was at all times consensual.

“I do not wish to say anything further at this point.”

The complainant told police she “felt like a hostage” during the alleged attack, which she said began after she nodded off on the sofa in Mr Mackinlay’s office.

“I fell asleep and the next thing I remember was him (Armstrong) with his hand on my left breast, and him kissing my mouth and my neck,” she said during an hour-long police video interview played to the jury.

“He kept saying come back to his flat, and I kept mumbling ‘no’, and he kept saying it,” she said.

“He called me a ‘b***h’ a few times.”

The woman continued: “I remember my body just freezing and I had no clue what was going on, as ridiculous as that sounds.”

She said Armstrong undressed her and himself and continued attacking her as she thought “I need to escape”, and asked him: “What are you doing?”

“He said ‘This is what you want’,” she told police during the November 22 interview.

The complainant said she felt “very vulnerable” and “incredibly alone”, adding: “I felt like a hostage. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t control my body.”

Once the alleged attack was over, the complainant said she dressed and left as soon as possible, first walking, then running through Westminster until she found a cleaner, who alerted police.

“It’s one of the most important buildings in Britain. It has no police anywhere,” she said.

The trial, which is expected to take two weeks, continues.