Labour suspends MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle over complaint

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has been suspended from the Labour Party following a complaint about his conduct.

The MP for Brighton Kemptown has been informed by the party that he cannot stand in the July 4 election.

He told BBC South East that he believed it was a “harassing and politically motivated complaint” about his conduct eight years ago.

He says he will cooperate with the investigation to clear his name, adding: “I believe I will be completely exonerated.”

The Labour Party confirmed that a complaint had been received and was being investigated.

Mr Russell-Moyle was elected to Brighton and Hove City Council in 2016 and to Westminster City Council in 2017.

He released a personal statement on social media, saying the letter came “out of the blue” from someone “who remains anonymous to me.”

He said: “This is a false accusation that I completely deny and I believe it was aimed at disrupting this election.”

“I don’t have enough time to defend myself because these processes within the party take too long. That’s why the party has informed me that I am not allowed to stand as a candidate in the next election. I am devastated.”

He added that he would cooperate with the investigation to “clear my name” and in the meantime would look at “how he could contribute to public life in other ways” and hoped for a Labour government.

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.”

At the 2019 general election, Russell-Moyle was re-elected as MP for Brighton Kemptown with 51.6% of the vote and a majority of 8,061 votes.

The other candidates in Brighton Kemptown are Khobi Vallis for the Conservatives, Elaine Hills for the Greens, Stewart Stone for the Liberal Democrats, Kellie-Jay Keen for the Party of Women, Valerie Gray for the Social Democratic Party and Elaine Ghoneim for the Workers Party of Britain.