Jurors at Southwark Crown Court have been shown CCTV footage of Conservative MP Patrick Spencer inside London’s Groucho Club, as he stands trial accused of groping two women during a night out in August 2023. Spencer, who represents Central Suffolk and North Ipswich and lost the Conservative whip after being charged, denies both counts of sexual assault against him.
The footage shown to the jury captured Spencer, 38, mingling at the members’ club in the period after the alleged assaults took place. In the clip, he is seen sitting on a sofa with a small group of people before pushing the table backwards with both hands, then using it for balance as he rises and walks past the bar, disappearing from view moments later.
Spencer’s account of the day
Giving evidence, Spencer told the court he had lunch with his father, billionaire Conservative donor Lord Michael Spencer, before watching England play Wales at Twickenham. He said he drank wine at lunch and beers at the rugby, describing himself to jurors as “pissed” by the time he reached the club, though he insisted he remained in control of his actions. “When I walked into the Groucho, I was fine, in high spirits, merry, but not out of control,” he said. Defence barrister Eleanor Laws KC asked Spencer directly whether he had deliberately placed his hands on either woman or intended to sexually assault anyone; he answered “No” to both questions.
Spencer told the court he was later asked to leave the club and took a rickshaw home, but said staff never explained why he had been ejected. “It was bizarre, surprising,” he said. “I assumed I was being loud, loutish, knocked over someone’s glass or had bumped into somebody. That’s what I quickly assumed.” He returned to the Groucho Club the following week to attend his aunt’s 70th birthday celebration, during which he also collected a jacket he had left behind on the night in question.
‘A moment of complete stupidity’
Jurors also heard a police interview in which Spencer was confronted with CCTV of the alleged incidents. He denied intentionally touching either woman’s breasts or attempting to “cop a feel,” while acknowledging his conduct had been inappropriate. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to approach someone from behind, I don’t think it’s appropriate to put my hands on someone unless you have a very close relationship with them. I don’t think it’s acceptable in this day and age,” he told the interviewing officer. Describing himself as “overfriendly” with a “gregarious” personality, he conceded his behaviour “look leery.” “Yeah, it looks terrible,” he said. “I can only imagine how upsetting it clearly was and is. It’s a moment of complete stupidity on my behalf.” He added: “I’m profoundly sorry to the two women and to anyone involved in this.”
One complainant’s account
One of the alleged victims gave evidence from behind a screen shielding her from Spencer and the press. She told the court she had been drinking gin and tonics with her husband when Spencer, a stranger to her, struck up a conversation. “He started talking to me, general chit-chat,” she said, adding that the exchange became uncomfortable once he asked whether she was married. “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 told jurors.
She said Spencer bought four cocktails and pressed her to take one. “I didn’t want to. I was a bit nervous because you read things about not taking drinks off strangers,” she said, adding that she eventually took a sip because of his insistence. After telling him her husband was at the venue, she said she left to find him, but that Spencer followed her into a corridor and continued trying to talk to her. She returned to the bar around 20 minutes later. “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,” she told the court. “I carried on walking, I was shocked. I just carried on walking and wanted to get away.” Asked by prosecutor Polly Dyer whether she had consented to the contact, she said: “Not at all.” She told the court she later confided in a friend about what had happened, after which a second woman came forward with a similar allegation.
Defence challenges her account
Under cross-examination, Eleanor Laws KC suggested Spencer’s behaviour reflected the effects of alcohol; the complainant disagreed that he had appeared drunk, though she accepted he was “animated” and “outgoing.” After jurors were shown a 20-minute clip of the alleged incident, Laws suggested the contact had been minimal. “Do you agree he barely touched you?” she asked. The woman replied: “No, I pushed away from him, he did touch me.” When Laws put it to her that Spencer had not touched her breasts, she responded: “He did.” Asked how long the contact lasted, she said: “For a millisecond, because I moved away as soon as I felt his touch.” Laws later suggested the CCTV did not show any contact taking place at all. The woman maintained her account: “No I don’t agree, he did touch me and you can see I pull away.”
The trial at Southwark Crown Court is continuing.
