Tory MP ‘touched me for a millisecond’

A Tory MP ‘barely touched’ a woman who claims he assaulted her in London’s exclusive Groucho Club, a court heard.

Patrick Spencer, 38, who represents Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, intentionally placed his hands on the chests of two women on 12 August 2023, it is said.

Following his arrest in March 2025 the MP said he ‘hugged lots of people that night’ and embraced the two complainants from behind, the first around the waist and second by putting his hands on her hips.

Spencer described his behaviour as ‘not appropriate in this day and age’ but said it was not his intent to touch the women inappropriately, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The first woman who claims she was assaulted gave evidence today (tues) with a blue screen shielding her from the view of Spencer and the press.

She said she was at the Groucho Club with her husband in the club’s Soho bar drinking gin and tonic when she saw Spencer, who she did not know at the time.

’He started talking to me, general chit-chat,’ the woman said.

‘I can’t remember how the conversation went until he asked me “are you married?” which I felt was a bit personal.

‘He was quite animated, and up until that point friendly, but then when he started asking me if I was married it became slightly intense and I felt like he was slightly invading my personal space.’

She said Spencer had bought four cocktails which were on the bar.

‘He kept insisting I take one and I didn’t want to. I was a bit nervous about it because you read things about not taking drinks off strangers.

‘I was like I’ve got my own drink, I’m fine, but he was very insistent and even though I said no a number of times I couldn’t walk away until I’d taken a sip. I felt I couldn’t anyway.’

She said she told him her husband was at the club and she was going to find him.

‘I left to walk across the corridor to the smoking terrace and he sort of followed me and stepped into an alcove and tried to continue the conversation with me,’ the woman said.

‘I said I’m just going out to try and find my husband.’

She said 20 minutes later she returned to the bar and Spencer tried to talk to her again.

‘I went to leave the bar and that’s when he came up behind me and he put his arms through my arms and touched my breasts.

‘I carried on walking, I was shocked. I just carried on walking and wanted to get away.’

‘Had you consented to this male touching your breasts?’ prosecutor Polly Dyer asked.

‘Not at all,’ the woman replied.

She said she told a friend what had happened and another woman came out and said the same thing had happened to her.

The woman said her friend told her husband and he asked Spencer to leave.

Answering questions from Eleanor Laws, KC, representing Spencer, the woman said she had around three or four gin and tonics before her interaction with Spencer.

Ms Laws said: ‘You said he was very friendly, would you agree he was quite animated and behaving as if had had a bit to drink?’

‘He didn’t appear drunk to me,’ the woman said.

‘But he did seem quite merry?’ Ms Laws said.

‘You could say merry, I would say animated,’ the woman said.

‘He was very outgoing at that point talking to a lot of people?’ Ms Laws said.

‘Yes,’ the woman said.

The woman said she did not remember him offering other people drinks.

Ms Laws suggested the woman’s husband was present along with a group of people when she first interacted with Spencer.

The woman said she could not remember if this was true.

Ms Laws suggested she stayed near to Spencer talking to other people in the group before walking away, and the woman said this could be correct.

Ms Laws suggested that when the woman walked away Spencer had spoken to her again in a corridor and did not move into an alcove, which the woman disagreed with.

After viewing the CCTV footage from the night for the first time, the woman accepted that her husband had been present at the time she says she was assaulted.

‘Do you agree he barely made contact with you?’ Ms Laws said.

‘Well obviously I was uncomfortable because I stepped away closer to my husband,’ the woman said.

‘Do you agree he barely touched you?’ Ms Laws said.

‘No, I pushed away from him, he did touch me,’ the woman replied.

‘He didn’t touch your breasts did he?’ Ms Laws said.

‘He did,’ the woman replied.

‘With two hands?’ Ms Laws said.

‘Yes,’ the woman replied.

Asked how long he touched them for, the woman said: ‘For a millisecond, because I moved away as soon as I felt his touch.’

Ms Laws said: ’And there was a lot of talk amongst you and your group including [the second complainant] about him and what he had done wasn’t there?’

‘That wasn’t a lot of talk, it was the end of the night,’ the woman replied.

‘But you weren’t silent, you said something had happened and naturally you talked about it and exchanged what you recalled, that’s right isn’t it?’ Ms Laws said.

‘Yes,’ the woman replied.

Ms Laws asked the woman if she was surprised when she saw how quickly things happened on the CCTV.

‘I suppose I was surprised how quickly, but the key parts of the interaction are familiar to me,’ the woman said.

‘Do you agree it looks like he didn’t actually touch you?’ Ms Laws said.

‘No I don’t agree, he did touch me and you can see I pull away,’ the woman said.

‘You don’t see him touching you on that do you?’ Ms Laws said.

‘I think you can see him putting his hands through,’ the woman said.

Bespectacled Spencer appeared in the dock today wearing a navy suit and blue shirt with no tie.

The Groucho is a private members’ club in Soho’s Dean Street. It opened in 1985 and became a well-known haunt of celebrities and media figures.

Spencer worked for the Department for Education before becoming director of the Jobs Foundation, stepping down to become an MP.

Spencer, of Suffolk, denies two counts of sexual assault.

The trial, before Mr Justice Garnham, continues and is set to last one week.