OUTGOING Metro Mayor Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.
The politician, who is also the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, was arrested on April 4.
Avon and Somerset police said: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.
“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.
“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.
“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.
“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on April 4 on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.
“He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.
“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”
Norris, aged 65, was immediately suspended from the Labour Party after his arrest but remains an MP.
However he has been banned from entering both Parliament and the offices of the West of England Combined Authority during the course of the police investigation.
WECA staff received an email from chief executive Stephen Peacock on April 9, which said: “I wrote to the Mayor to inform him that he should not enter the building or attend any other meetings on behalf of the Combined Authority.
“The Mayor’s building access fob has been deactivated and the Mayor’s access to the authority’s IT system has been removed.
“It is matter of public record that a similar approach has been taken by the parliamentary estate and the Mayor’s access to parliament has been revoked.”
New parliamentary rules mean a risk assessment is carried out when an MP is arrested on suspicion of a violent or sexual offence, which leads to a ban from entering its buildings.
A House of Commons spokesperson said: “We do not comment on individual cases.”
Norris remains officially the West of England Mayor until May 1, when a successor will be elected.
He was already standing down because of a Labour Party ban on MPs having second jobs.
Includes reporting by John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service