Tory MP who stood down over cocaine allegations says ‘it could happen to anyone’
A married Tory MP who was caught snorting cocaine at the home of a younger woman has said his ordeal ‘could happen to anyone’.
David Warburton formally stood down on Monday following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and drug use after he was photographed perched next to a tray of white lines.
Now claiming he’s ‘standing up to tell the truth’, the 57-year-old admitted making a ‘silly mistake’ – but insisted he was the victim of a ‘set up’ which landed him in the company of a ‘very flirtatious’ acquaintance in her 20s at 4am.
Speaking to GB News after his resignation, he said: ‘I am an old fool, I’ve been an old fool no question about that. I fell into it, it happened to me.
‘I think it’s possible that it can happen to anyone, though, and I think people are vulnerable to this.’
While representing Somerton and Frome in the Commons, called for international action in ‘tackling the drug trade’, condemned its ‘appalling’ exploitation of young people, and criticised ‘double standards’ in politics.
On Monday he vowed to ‘continue to campaign against cocaine’, adding: ‘I made a big mistake in doing that. I was led to make a big mistake in doing that.
‘That’s something that anybody could fall into. That doesn’t make the campaigning wrong.
‘If anything it makes the campaigning more important because it shows that this can happen to people.’
Warburton denies the sexual misconduct allegations investigated by Parliament’s harassment watchdog, which relate to separate incidents including one involving a female parliamentary aide who claims he squeezed her bottom during a ‘consensual hug’.
Warburton also denies groping the woman behind the cocaine photo – an allegation she made to The Times but did not discuss before the investigation as she declined to make a complaint or give evidence.
He also denies asking her to buy the drugs and has suggested the bender was the product of ‘Russian infiltration’.
The home belonged to an English woman who spoke fluent Russian and was part of a WhatsApp group with the aide in which the two women ‘discussed their sex lives’, he told MailOnline this weekend.
The former MP claimed the Russian-speaking woman – whom he’d only met twice – invited him over to discuss their mutual friend, later sending him a picture of her cleavage in a wet T-shirt.
Warburton insisted the photo did not influence him, claiming he was already ‘worse for wear’ due to drink when he decided to go.
The 57-year-old said visiting a ‘very flirtatious’ woman more than two decades younger than him was ‘insane’ but that he simply went to seek her advice on their mutual friend.
Speaking to GB News, he claimed he was ‘not allowed’ to detail the allegations against him but continued to suggest he was the victim of a sting.
He added: ‘I made a ridiculous decision and a silly mistake. I was led down a pathway, I was caught, I was photographed, deliberately set up. And I fell for it. It was naivety and stupidity, there’s no question about that.’
Warburton went on to accuse the watchdog of carrying out a ‘flawed investigation’ and an ‘astonishing abuse of power’.
He says he resigned so he could ‘stand up to tell the truth’, claiming he had been prevented from ‘speaking out’ during the investigation and could not ‘talk about’ its findings while still an MP.
The House of Commons rejected the claims, saying the watchdog was ‘there to ensure all complaints are dealt with in a manner that is fair, thorough, independent and efficient”.
In a statement, a Commons spokesman said: ‘We remain committed to ensuring that lasting cultural change can be delivered for all of those in Parliament.’
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