Chair of DCMS select committee suspended as Tory MP

The Chair of the influential select committee that scrutinises arts and culture policy has been suspended as a Conservative MP after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan Police.

Julian Knight, who has been an MP since 2015, will now sit in parliament as an independent. No details of the complaint or what it relates to have been disclosed.

A spokeswoman for Chief Whip Simon Hart, who is in charge of discipline within the parliamentary party, last night said: "Following a complaint made to the Metropolitan Police this evening, we have removed the whip from Julian Knight MP with immediate effect."

The news comes just a day after Knight and other members of the DCMS Select Committee quizzed Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan on a range of issues relating to her department. 

Knight, a former BBC journalist, is MP for Solihull in the West Midlands. 

He has released a statement on Twitter, responding to his suspension, which says he has never been warned or spoken to about allegations of misconduct. Knight also said he has been subject to "blackmail threats" and referred to the withdrawal of the whip as "wrong and unjustified".

His statement in full reads: "I have heard nothing from the police, the Whips Office or Parliament’s Internal Grievance Service, or been the subject of any investigation by the latter. Nor have I ever been warned or spoken to by the Whips office about any allegations of misconduct.

"I believe their withdrawal of the whip is wrong and unjustified. Some months ago I accepted the resignation of a staff member following a full enquiry into his conduct regarding House of Commons security issues and, separately, allegations of bullying against him.

"Subsequently, I have received what my lawyers advise are explicit threats involving blackmail as well as being at the centre of a campaign of rumour and innuendo. All matters are now with my lawyers and I will be recusing myself from Parliament until the matter is resolved."

Knight had been due to chair a meeting of the DCMS Select Committee this morning (8 December), which gathered to quiz Arts Council England Chief Executive Darren Henley on decisions made in relation to ACE's new National Portfolio for 2023-26.

The session was instead chaired by Labour MP Julie Elliot.