Police investigating claims of child sex abuse against a senior Labour MP

Allegations by a Conservative MP who requested anonymity include that the Labour MP had abused children over course of 10 years

Police are investigating allegations of sexual abuse and corruption made against a senior Labour MP.

Detectives were told two weeks ago that the politician had abused children and other vulnerable people over the course of more than a decade. They also received a report claiming that he had charged constituents fees to take on their cases.

The allegations were made by a fellow MP, a Conservative, who said he had spoken to several independent sources, all of whom told him similar stories.

He said the reports he received and subsequently passed on to police were shocking. “It makes me feel sick,” he said.

The Conservative MP said he felt he had no choice but to go to the police after he was told that the Labour MP in question abused two teenage boys who were in a mental health facility.

One of the boys was said to be scared that the Labour MP would have him killed if he spoke out.

News of the allegations first surfaced in reports in the Sun on Sunday and the Mail on Sunday.

The Conservative MP, who did not want to be named, confirmed to the Guardian that he had approached police and handed over the evidence he had. Asked about the case on Sunday, police said they did not comment on live investigations.

“I don’t have any prima facie proof, but a lot of people have said a lot of things to me that are very worrying. There are multiple sources over a period of time,” the MP who went to the police said.

“I rang the chief constable and said I am hearing some horrendous stuff and he said: ‘I have got police all over him.’ When I spoke to the police and crime commissioner [about it], he said: ‘You had better get to the back of the queue.’”

He alleged that the Labour MP in question had been arrested in the past, including for public indecency in a toilet, but that nothing had come of it. He also expressed concerns that the MP was charging fees for casework and for access to local council grants.

The Sun on Sunday reported that police were told the Labour MP particularly sought to abuse “young ragamuffins” and had boys sent to his room in a hotel near a police station.

The newspaper quoted the MP who contacted police as saying: “There was another story about him intervening to stop a man who was running a male brothel from being evicted over rent arrears.

“I was also contacted by self-help organisations who told me the MP had a liking for ‘young ragamuffins’, which I took to mean vulnerable young boys.

“The final straw came when I heard about his alleged involvement with two youngsters at a mental health centre.

“They are about 17 now and one is in fear of his life. I’m told he thinks the MP will have him killed if he speaks. It made my blood run cold.

“It was this that convinced me to go to police and tell them everything I know. It’s now down to them to get to the bottom of this by talking to everyone concerned.”

The Mail on Sunday named the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, John Mann, as one of two to approach police with the allegations, but he denied doing so on Sunday. He tweeted that he would be making a complaint about the story.

Mann said he had not approached police about the politician in question, but said he had handed over evidence of child abuse perpetrated by other political figures.

The MP against whom the allegations were made refused to comment.

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP who first named Cyril Smith as a paedophile in parliament, said: “The police should investigate any allegations thoroughly. But I have never heard any substantial, significant or specific claims against this particular MP.”