A Liberal Democrat MP has been arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling and coercive behaviour, triggering an immediate suspension from the party. Cameron Thomas, the MP for Tewkesbury since 2024, was detained by Gloucestershire Police on Wednesday before being interviewed and released on bail.
In a statement released on Friday, Gloucestershire Police said: “On Wednesday, a man in his 40s from Tewkesbury was arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour and assault. The man was interviewed by officers before later being released on police bail. Enquiries into the allegations made against him are ongoing.”
“Liberal Democrat MP Cameron Thomas arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling behaviour, party whip suspended.”
The Liberal Democrats swiftly moved to suspend the whip and party membership. A party spokesperson said: “Cameron Thomas MP has had the party whip suspended pending the outcome of a police investigation. Allegations of this nature are extremely serious, and it is important that the police are able to investigate properly. We are unable to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”
Thomas, 43, continues to sit as an independent MP, though the BBC understands his parliamentary access has been temporarily revoked. The former RAF officer, who served in Iraq, the Falkland Islands and the US, won the Tewkesbury seat from the Conservatives in the 2024 general election with a majority of more than 6,000.
Just hours after his arrest, a post appeared on Thomas’s Facebook page showing him posing in the House of Commons in an England football shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Extra Time for Dads”, a call for extended paternity leave. However, the Guardian reported that he appeared to still be in Gloucestershire to watch England’s opening World Cup game on Wednesday. The previous weekend, Thomas attended a fair in the village of Bishop’s Cleeve, near Cheltenham, chatting to local people and a Lib Dem councillor.
Thomas spent 23 years in the RAF, working in telecommunications and information technology, before commissioning as a military police officer after a tour as a drill instructor. Since his election, he has frequently spoken on defence and foreign policy, lobbying for closer collaboration with Nato and EU partners and rebuilding the UK’s defence-industrial base.
The police investigation is ongoing, and the Liberal Democrats have declined to comment further. The nature of the allegations against the MP remains unclear.