The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) has demanded a reinvestigation of the sexual misconduct complaints against David Warburton, after Warburton’s appeal was successfully upheld. Warburton was previously referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) following a complaint by his staffer last year. Around the time pictures emerged of him posing next to a mountain of cocaine…

The investigator recommended upholding two of the sexual misconduct allegations, although now the Independent Expert Panel has decided to re-do the probe:

“[the panel] found that the Investigator had failed properly to pursue the suggestion by the respondent [Warburton] that the complainant had colluded with witnesses to fabricate the complaint against him. The respondent had submitted material that might be capable of supporting his argument, but it had not been properly assessed by the Investigator or the Commissioner. The Commissioner also failed fully to consider whether the complainant’s breach of confidentiality at the beginning of the process, and her denial of it, affected her credibility. The subpanel also concluded that the Commissioner had relied on evidence that had not been adequately tested during the investigation…”

Warburton has already resigned as an MP, so this won’t save his parliamentary career. If the reinvestigation rules in his favour, it might give him a new line to take when explaining himself in future, at least…

Read the IEP’s report in full below…