A woman who says she was groped by a Conservative MP in a London nightclub described him as a “bit of a pest” who insisted she have a drink even after she said no — before he came up behind her and placed his hands on her breasts.
Giving evidence behind a screen at Southwark Crown Court, the woman told jurors she never consented to being touched by Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. “I was shocked, I carried on walking, I wanted to get away,” she said. When prosecutor Polly Dyer asked if she had consented, she replied: “Not at all.”
“Patrick Spencer MP accused of groping two women at Groucho Club; trial hears he was 'bit of a pest'.”
The incident took place in August 2023 at the Groucho Club in London. The woman, who did not know who Spencer was at the time, described his initial behaviour as “animated and friendly” before he began asking personal questions. “I felt I wanted to move away, he was invading my personal space,” she told the court. She said Spencer had four cocktails on the bar and was “very insistent” she also have one. “I felt I could not walk away unless I took a sip of the drink,” she said.
After she found her husband, she returned to the bar. That was when, according to her testimony, Spencer came up behind her, put his arms through hers, and placed one hand on each of her breasts. She initially did not tell her husband because she feared how he would react.
A second woman shortly entered the room and reported that the same thing had happened to her. Spencer was confronted about his behaviour and asked to leave the club. He was identified as the man in CCTV footage the following year.
Spencer, 38, who was elected as an MP in July 2024, denies two counts of sexual assault. His defence counsel, Eleanor Laws, has questioned the account. Spencer also specifically denied “fist pumping in celebration” after the alleged groping, according to the Sky News report of the trial.
The trial at Southwark Crown Court continues.