Annabelle Fuller was questioned under caution last week amid claims the former Ukip aide falsely accused a Tory MP of groping her
Nigel Farage faced embarrassment last night as it emerged that Scotland Yard formally questioned his alleged ‘ex-mistress’ over claims that she fabricated a sexual assault case against a Tory MP.
Detectives quizzed Annabelle Fuller under caution last week following suggestions that she falsely accused Andrew Bridgen of touching her inappropriately. Officers are understood to be close to concluding their investigation.
It is the latest development in an astonishing saga which started in June 2011 when Mr Bridgen, 50, was arrested after Ms Fuller said he had groped her on the balcony of his Westminster flat.
The charges were dropped shortly afterwards when Ms Fuller, a former aide to the Ukip leader, withdrew her allegations.
The MP for North West Leicestershire says the case wrecked his marriage and he now has limited contact with his children.
Detectives have gained access to Ms Fuller’s phone records to check her account of events with people she spoke to that night.
The 33-year-old was described as Farage’s ‘former mistress’ under parliamentary privilege last year in Strasbourg by former Ukip MEP Nikki Sinclaire.
Both Mr Farage and Ms Fuller strongly deny an affair, and Ms Fuller has since stopped working for the party.
She claimed that the 2011 incident arose after she met Mr Bridgen at a Westminster pub with a civil servant, and all three went to the MP’s flat after midnight to discuss military charities.
he ran from the property in the early hours, grabbing Mr Bridgen’s BlackBerry and Commons pass as evidence.
A security guard called police, and Ms Fuller told them Mr Bridgen reached up her skirt and touched her bottom and leg. Despite the charges being dropped, Mr Bridgen and his wife Jackie soon divorced.
Scotland Yard’s investigation into Ms Fuller was launched after claims by Jasna Badzak, a former Ukip official who says she exchanged messages with Ms Fuller following the incident, and that Ms Fuller boasted of seeing messages from David Cameron on Mr Bridgen’s BlackBerry.
Last month, Ms Badzak was sent a police ‘Prevention of Harassment’ letter for talking to The Mail on Sunday, on the grounds that it led to Ms Fuller being ‘subjected to numerous phone calls and emails’.
Andrew Bridgen said the ordeal ruined his marriage and family life. He is pictured with his former wife Jackie Bridgen in 2010, a year before he was accused of sexually assaulting Ms Fuller
The Ukip leader has strongly denied ever having an affair with the former aide. She no longer works for the party
The police action prompted Tory MP Zac Goldsmith to write to London Mayor Boris Johnson urging him to investigate whether officers were abusing their position by trying to stop a newspaper investigation of Ukip.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘A 33-year-old woman attended a Central London police station on Wednesday 14th January, where she was interviewed under caution. Inquiries are ongoing.’
Ukip said: ‘This case is being investigated and it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
Ms Fuller declined to comment. Mr Bridgen said that it would be ‘inappropriate to comment’.
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