Labour MP suspended from party after ‘serious’ complaint | Politics news

Lloyd Russell-Moyle had planned to stand for re-election in Brighton Kemptown, but an investigation into what he described as a “vexatious” allegation against him will not be completed in time.

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle was suspended from his party after a “serious complaint” was made against him.

The MP for Brighton Kemptown had planned to fight for his seat again in the upcoming general election.

But Mr Russell-Moyle said there was not “enough time to defend myself as these processes within the party take too long”.

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The reason for the complaint is not yet clear, but Sky News understands that it was filed last week and is now under investigation.

In a social media statement, Russell-Moyle said he believed it was a “harassing and politically motivated complaint about my conduct eight years ago.”

He claimed it was a “false allegation that I completely deny and that I believe was intended to disrupt the election.”

He added: “I will seek to cooperate with the investigation to clear my name, but will now take the opportunity to contribute to public life in a variety of ways under what I hope will soon be a Labour government.”

Mr Russell-Moyle has been MP for his Brighton constituency since 2017 and served as Shadow Foreign Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn and Shadow Environment Secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s first cabinet.

Before Parliament closed its doors for the election campaign, he also sat on both the House of Commons Net Zero Committee and the Public Administration Committee.

But he gained recognition throughout Parliament after telling his parliamentary colleagues in a speech that he was HIV positive.

Another memorable moment was when he picked up a mace in the House of Commons to protest against the government’s handling of the Brexit vote.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they will be fully investigated in accordance with our rules and procedures and all appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”