A serving senior Labour MP, and former minister, has been accused by Parliamentary colleagues of committing a shocking series of child sex offences. 

Both the Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday have reported that the Labour MP is allegedly responsible for a “wave of sickening offences” relating to child sex abuse, “spanning at least 12 years.” 

The Sun newspaper has claimed that two current MPs have “independently reported the former minister to police,” having received the information relating to their fellow Member of Parliament. 

The reports name one of the MP’s supposedly responsible for speaking to the police as John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, a constituency in Nottinghamshire.  The other MP is not named, but the Mail on Sunday states that he is a Conservative. 

The story alleges that the offending MP, who is male, but cannot be named for legal reasons, committed a string of offences, including abusing boys “at a hospital’s mental health unit,” with one of those abused reportedly left fearing for his life.  The report also describes how the MP supposedly had an “unhealthy interest in the two young sons of a local councillor.” 

The Conservative politician who has spoken to the press and police, but who is said to have asked to remain anonymous, reports that he had heard “lots of different stories from all sorts of people,” in relation to the offender.  The allegations include that he had been committing offences, including “abusing minors,” until “as recently as 18 months ago.” 

But Labour MP John Mann, who is named as one of the Parliamentarians to report the child sex offences, has accused the papers of inaccuracies. 

John Mann MP for Bassetlaw (Twitter)

Speaking to The Independent this morning, Mann stated the he will be making a formal complaint against The Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday. “ It’s Improper to distort facts in this way,” says Mann, who has been helping the police with a number of investigations. 

“The attributing of my name to a story in the Mail on Sunday and Sun on Sunday is misleading and inaccurate.  As both papers know.” 

The Mail on Sunday reports that the BBC has also been aware of the serious allegations against the Member of Parliament, and that a team of journalists are currently investigating the situation. “ The team, which has been granted significant resources by bosses, has already started interviewing potential witnesses about the MP,” reports the Mail, stating that Director-general Tony Hall is aware of the on-going project. 

The Independent has approached the BBC for a comment. 

This is not the first time Labour party politicians are facing accusations of committing child sex offences.  Greville Janner, the former MP for Leicester West, and a Labour peer until his suspension from the party in April this year, has been accused of being a “serial child abuser.” 

Simon Danczuk, MP for Rochdale claimed in Parliament that Janner was responsible for “children being violated, raped and tortured, some in the very building in which we now sit,” whilst speaking in Parliament. 

A spokesperson for the Labour Party told The Independent that “any claim of child sex abuse is extremely serious and must be thoroughly investigated by the police.”