UK: Tory MP Resigns In Rent Boy Scandal

Conservative MP Mark Menzies resigned his position as a ministerial aide last night after a 19 year-old Brazilian male prostitute alleged that Menzies hired him for sex and asked him to procure drugs. Via the Independent:

Menzies, 42, the MP for Fylde in Lancashire, resigned his position as the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the international development minister Alan Duncan, the first openly gay Conservative MP. Mr Menzies has never spoken publicly about his sexuality and does not mention his family life or relationships on his website, but he is said to have attended LGBTory events held in Parliament. In a statement issued on Saturday night he revealed he planned to dispute the claims, which appeared in a tabloid newspaper.

Via the Daily Mail:

In reports last night, Mr Santos, said to be 19, claimed the Tory MP had paid him to have sex and asked him to obtain methedrone. Texts on the Brazilian’s mobile phone apparently revealed messages asking him for full details about the quality of the drug and how much it cost. Mr Santos, who lives in the Brazilian city Sao Paulo, said: "I have been having sex with a Conservative MP for money. Mark asked me to buy methedrone. I have personal messages of him talking to me about drugs." Mr Santos also reportedly claimed he had overstayed on his student visa and was in the UK illegally, although it is understood Mr Menzies was unaware of his immigration status. The Brazilian maintained he was taken around Parliament by the MP and still has a ‘visitor’s permit’ but there was no suggestion Mr Menzies had broken any Commons rules.