Tory MP accused of club assaults says he was just ‘animated and having fun’
A Tory MP denied assaulting two women at London’s Groucho Club and wept in court as his wife described him as ‘compassionate.’
Married father-of-two Patrick Spencer, 38, has described his behaviour as ‘not appropriate in this day and age’ but said it was not his intention to touch the women inappropriately.
Spencer was elected to Parliament in the 2024 general election with a majority of 4,290.
Following his arrest in March 2025 the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich 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.
Bespectacled Spencer gave evidence at Southwark Crown Court today wearing a navy suit and white shirt.
His barrister Eleanor Laws, KC, asked: ’Did you deliberately place you hands on either [woman one] or [woman two]’s breasts?’
‘No,’ Spencer replied.
‘Did you intend to sexually touch anyone?’ Ms Laws said.
‘No,’ Spencer replied.
Spencer told the jury he is married with two young boys.
He said he went to the University of Leeds before working in 2017 at the Centre for Social Justice before starting work at the Department of Education in 2017.
Spencer said he then worked for a charity called the Jobs Foundation before standing to become an MP
‘I was interested in pubic policy, I was interested in eduction and I wanted to give it a go,’ he said.
Spencer said he began a relationship with his wife in 2013 and married in 2019.
He said he has never been unfaithful to his wife and never been sexually inappropriate to anyone or made anyone feel uncomfortable.
Spencer said that on 12 August 2023 he went to watch England and Wales play rugby with his father before heading to the Groucho Club.
He said he was late for dinner with his friends, not getting there until 10.15pm.
Asked how much he had to drink, he said: ‘I had a wine at lunch and beers at rugby, it would have been over a long period of time, but I was pissed.
‘When I walked into the Groucho I was fine – in high spirits, merry – not out of control.’
He said the CCTV showed he was ‘clearly stumbling’ but said he could not remember being badly effected by alcohol.
‘What is your memory of what was happening in the bar before you left?’ Ms Laws said.
‘Everyone was in high spirits enjoying themselves. Peak summer- everyone was happy,’ Spencer said.
He said he was asked to leave and went home without his jacket.
‘Obviously I had put it into the cloakroom when I arrived and when being asked to leave their wasn’t an opportunity to reclaim it.’
Spencer said he retrieved the jacket a few days later when attending another event at the Groucho Club.
He said the following morning he did not remember being asked to leave but he recalled it over the following days.
The MP said this had never happened to him before and he found it ‘bizarre’ and ‘surprising’.
Asked why he thought he had been asked to leave, he said: ‘I just assumed I was being loud or clottish or I’d knocked over someone’s glass or bumped into somebody.
‘I was surprised, embarrassed – as someone in their mid 30s.’
Spencer said he did not remember buying drinks for the two women but it was possible.
He said he would not have insisted they take a drink from him.
Spencer said he did not remember asking one of the women about his marriage.
After being shown the CCTV footage again, Spencer said it showed him hugging a male friend from behind before doing the same to the first woman.
He said he did not touch her breasts.
Asked to describe his behaviour on the CCTV, he said: ‘I’m in high spirits, I’m animated, I’m having fun.’
Shown a clip of the alleged assault on the second woman, Spencer said: ‘It looks like [my hand] made contact with her breast.
‘She throws my arms downwards and away.’
He said he is a ‘tactile and huggy’ person.
‘I was just being over friendly, overzealous and overenthusiastic,’ he said.
Asked why he made a gesture with his hand after the alleged incident, he said: ‘I mean I’m embarrassed and surprised, something’s happened and I gesticulate a lot the time so I think that is what had happened.
‘My arms had been thrown down, thrown away and in the moment I think my friends have seen something embarrassing.
‘I’ve clearly looked at them to see if they’ve just seen that mortifying moment.’
Asked what he thought of his behaviour now, he said: ‘It was wildly misjudged and ultimately inappropriate to hug someone in that way in that context.’
Jurors were earlier read a transcript of part of Spencer’s police interview in March 2025.
After being shown CCTV of the alleged incident Spencer said he had embraced his male friend before embracing a female from behind.
He said he may have spoken to the female and would have considered her ‘part of the group’ because she was talking to his friends.
He said his behaviour was inappropriate, adding: ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate to approach someone from behind and to put my hands on somebody unless I have a very close relationship with someone.
‘It’s just not acceptable in this day and age.’
He said he did not believe he had touched anyone’s breasts but said that if he did it was accidental and not sexually motivated.
He said: ‘I’m a gregarious person, interested in people, I’m always interested in talking, chatting to other people so my intention would have always been friendly in nature.’
Spencer wept in the dock as his wife Anna Spencer came into court to give evidence.
She said: ‘I met Patrick through my best friend from school who was his friend at university, she introduced us in 2009.
‘Patrick then moved to Hong Kong and we started dating when he came back when we met at a birthday party.’
Mrs Spencer said she is aware of the charges and has seen the CCTV footage.
She said: ’As a husband Patrick is kind, he’s gentle, he’s compassionate. He’s thoughtful, he supports every hobby, phase, whatever it is I chose to do. He makes me feel braver than I really am.
‘He is the most wonderful father, they adore him.
‘In terms of personal characteristics, what would you say about him? Ms Laws said.
‘The first word that comes into my head is kind. He’s kind, he’s honest.
‘He doesn’t always know how to react in a moment, he doesn’t always read a room perfectly, social situations.
‘Patrick is I would say naturally quite awkward, but very intelligent and has done an amazing job of learning social situations.
‘I do believe that what comes across first to most people are Patrick’s good qualities, but if you don’t know him I can understand how some behaviours, some of the things he says, sometimes his facial expression is a little odd.
‘He just sometimes says the wrong thing, and I feel like saying “what are you thinking?” and in a moment of reflection he will say “I don’t know”.
Ms Laws asked: ‘Have you seen or heard him say anything sexually inappropriate?’
‘Never. He is, for 20 years, he is the biggest gentleman,’ Mrs Spencer said.
Asked if she shared her husband’s politics, she said: ‘No my background is I am a teacher, I was a teacher in state school in east London, so we share virtually no political views from the smallest to the biggest.’
Asked to describe her husband further, she said: ‘He’s just a really nice man. I come from a generation of women who have lived in London and walked home with their keys in their hand and changed outfits and I chose to marry him because he’s not that man.’
Asked if anything she saw on the CCTV made her pause before giving character evidence, she replied: ‘Never’.
She said: ‘Patrick is an extrovert, and he is fun, a room is a more fun place when Patrick is in it. That does not mean he’s promiscuous he is just a happy man who wants everyone around him to be happy, he has a good spirit.’
‘He is tactile but he is not promiscuous.
‘In 20 years, even before dating, I have never known him to inappropriately touch, or even look at or even really make sexual remarks about any woman ever.’
The Conservative Party removed the whip from him after he was charged last year and he now sits as an independent MP.
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, whose full name is Michael Patrick 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.
Close friends of the MP gave evidence on his behalf after the MP denied assaulting two women at the Groucho Club.
Married father-of-two Spencer, 38, has described his behaviour as ‘not appropriate in this day and age’ but said it was not his intention to touch the women inappropriately.
He denies two charges of sexual assault.
Spencer’s friend Thomas Beeby, who was with him in the Groucho club that night, told the court he has known him for 17 years.
The defence witness said: ‘We arrived around 7.30pm, Paddy arrived much later.’
He said they went to their table in the dining area before Spencer arrived and ordered for him because he was late.
Mr Beeby said he did not want to drink too much that night because he had a young child at home.
‘I had no memory of anything significant happening that night,’ he said.
Mr Beeby said he has no recollection of the two women who say they were assaulted.
Watching the CCTV of Spencer hugging him from behind, he said this was not unusual.
‘He’s someone who when he greets you he would definitely hug you, when you leave he would hug you. It’s not uncommon for him to put an arm around you on a night out or during dinner.’
‘Do you have any recollection of Patrick approaching anyone in the bar or having any contact with anyone else that night,’ Orla Daly, representing Spencer, asked.
‘No,’ Mr Beeby replied.
He said he did not remember Spencer doing a hand gesture or any conversation about what had happened with the two women.
He said he did not remember that Spencer was asked to leave the club.
Mr Beeby said the CCTV did not jog his memory.
Asked what Spencer is like as a person, he said: ‘I think he’s a very kind, caring friend and also a brilliant dad to his children.’
He said their families are close.
‘What is he like on a night out, when he’s had too much to drink?’ Ms Daly said.
‘I guess he can be quite fun, happy, he’s quite a warm character, so I guess quite jolly,’ Mr Beeby said.
‘Have you ever had any concerns about his behaviour?’ Ms Daly said.
‘Never, no,’ Mr Beeby said.
Asked about Spencer’s personality, he said: ‘I think he’s a very warm character, he has a lot of friends and family, he’s very giving with his time.
‘I’d describe him as a very good man and a great dad and a great husband.’
Spencer’s friend Andy Cook, chief executive of the Centre for Social Justice, told the court he had seen CCTV footage of the night and it did not cause him to pause before giving character evidence.
Mr Cook was not at the Groucho Club that night but said he is aware Spencer is now on trial facing allegations of sexual assault.
He said he has known Spencer for a decade since they worked together at the Centre for Social Justice.
‘I became Patrick’s boss, he was incredibly warm and helped me in the environment I was in. He worked incredibly hard, was meticulous on the detail and just a great colleague.
‘He was a real strength to me because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, and he helped me navigate the crazy world of Westminster and charities and was really good for me.
‘He became one of my closest friends, one of my best friends to this day. I spend a lot of time and speak to him a lot.’
Asked what Spencer is like when drinking, he said: ‘I would describe him as interested, he’s fantastic on a night out, he’s warm, funny, really good value on a night, he’d be’d be first on the team sheet.’
‘Have you ever seen anything about his behaviour that has ever given you any concern?’ Ms Daly said.
‘No never, we’ve been out all over the place and I’ve never seen anything like that. As a bloke you’ve got groups of mates and there’s always one you’re slightly nervous about, and he’s just not that guy.’
Spencer, whose full name is Michael Patrick Spencer, worked for the Department for Education before becoming director of the Jobs Foundation, stepping down to become an MP.
The trial, before Mr Justice Garnham, continues tomorrow (thurs).
