Senior Tory MP suspended after complaint to police

Julian Knight has been suspended as a Conservative MP after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan Police, a party spokeswoman has said.

She declined to comment on the nature of the complaint as it is now under investigation.

Mr Knight, who has been an MP since 2015, chairs the culture committee in the House of Commons.

He represents the Solihull constituency in the West Midlands, but will now sit as an independent.

A spokeswoman for Chief Whip Simon Hart said: "Following a complaint made to the Metropolitan Police this evening, we have removed the whip from Julian Knight MP with immediate effect."

The chief whip is in charge of discipline within the parliamentary party. He also has the power to remove the whip from an MP, meaning they can no longer sit in Parliament as a Conservative MP.

Mr Knight becomes the fifth MP to currently have the Conservative whip removed.

As chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Mr Knight has previously commented on drafts of the online safety bill.