Man arrested over alleged rape inside UK parliament

A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape following an alleged incident inside Britain's Houses of Parliament, London police said on Tuesday.

The attack reportedly took place in the early hours of last Friday and the suspect, who police have not named, was detained later that day. Police said he was not a lawmaker. Police said the man had been released on bail until January pending further inquiries.

A spokesperson for the House of Commons, one of Britain's most recognizable buildings on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, said they were aware of the incident and parliament was working closely with police.



Earlier on October 15, Wales international footballer Ched Evans was found not guilty of rape by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court following a retrial.

Evans, who plays for English third-tier club Chesterfield, was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room near Rhyl, Wales, in May 2011.

The 27-year-old was previously found guilty of rape, but the jury was told that the Court of Appeal had quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.



On March 2, a British man was found guilty of raping five women he met through the US Internet dating service match.com, which he was allowed to use despite complaints to the website from his victims.

Derby Crown Court in central England heard that father-of-three Jason Lawrance, 50, contacted thousands of women on match.com using different profile names.

Police described Lawrance, who was also found guilty of attempting to rape and sexually assaulting two other women, as a “sexual predator”.