'I'm angry but now I want to focus on my constituents' - MP
Martin Giles/BBCA Suffolk MP is returning to Westminster after the “hardest part“ of his life and says his focus will be on delivering for his constituents.
Patrick Spencer, who represents Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, was temporarily removed from the Conservative parliamentary party and told to stay away from Westminster after being arrested 16 months ago following allegations of sexual assault. He was cleared by a jury in July.
He says he is sad and angry about his prosecution which he believes may have been brought because he is an MP.
But now, as the new parliamentary year begins, he is able to sit in the House of Commons again as a Conservative MP where he says he will focus on issues like solar farms, house building and trying to improve the local economy.
PA Media"It has been the hardest part of my life for sure," says Spencer, as he sits in his Framlingham office surrounded by maps of his constituency and newspaper cuttings about his work as an MP.
"The pressure it puts on you is huge, not just from a professional point of view but from a personal one as well.
"I'm just incredibly grateful for all the support I had - not just from colleagues and friends but also my family. If it hadn't been for my wife and two sons I don't think I would have made it through.
"We fought as a team and we got through it together and we're stronger as a result."
'Kindness of constituents'
He added: "One of the things I've taken away from this has been the decency, the generosity and the kindness of my constituents who from the beginning said to me 'innocent until guilty… we still need you to do your job' and since the acquittal that hasn't changed."
He won't talk about the allegations that were made against him, saying that all the evidence was put before a jury which found him not guilty.
But he says he still cannot understand why he was only arrested nearly two years after a complaint had been made against him.
"I do think the process was corrupted somewhat by my position as a Member of Parliament," he said.
"I don't think anybody looking at the evidence would have expected [the case] to get as far as it did.
"Thank God for the jury seeing sense and throwing it out."
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He says he is still trying to work out what happened before blaming anyone but adds: "Of course I'm sad, of course I'm angry but that is now in the past and I'm trying to focus on my political career and to deliver for the residents who elected me as their Member of Parliament".
A Met Police spokesperson told the BBC: "We police without fear or favour and are committed to providing every Londoner with the best service a part of our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls."
'We never went away'
Spencer and his team are keen to stress that he kept working as an Independent MP - often away from the limelight - while awaiting his trial.
There are pictures on his wall of meetings which he attended, he still voted by proxy in parliamentary votes, he still sent in written questions to ministers.
"We spent time holding the council to account, we answered thousands of emails, we got money allocated to the area, we've done some great stuff," he says.
He is particularly pleased that the Whitehouse area of Ipswich received Pride in Place funding and that he helped get a new GP surgery in North Ipswich.
But he admits it has been "a tough period".
He did not have the platform of being able to speak in the Commons chamber and I have been told about events and meetings which some other politicians refused to attend because Spencer would be there.
What happens now?
Martin Giles/BBCLike most MPs, Spencer sees the economy and the cost of living as the main issue affecting his constituents.
He says he wants to highlight the challenges facing businesses and continue with his campaign to back local firms.
On new homes
He is against the government's house building targets, but says he will support developments in the right places.
"I want to create towns and cities which people want to live in with the right infrastructure," he says.
"I don't think young people want to live on the outskirts of rural villages far away from the amenities they need."
On solar farms
"I don't think anyone who saw the scenes from Dunwich Heath would argue that climate change is not real and is a threat but I do not think the answer is carpeting our countryside with solar panels."
Northern bypass
With the debate over how to tackle congestion in Ipswich about to resurface, Spencer says he is worried any bypass would take too long to build and cost billions of pounds.
"My priority for now is to make sure we don't make the wrong decision rather than give my backing to any other (proposals) but I am probably most in favour of looking at a second crossing."
His role in the party
Before his arrest Spencer was a member of the party's education team and was tipped as a high flyer and possible shadow minister.
But he says that, for now, "I am a back bencher and I will focus on representing my constituency".
He says he is "excited, invigorated and proud" to be returning to Westminster but adds: "There is a lot to do".
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