Top MP suspended from party after ‘arrest as part of police investigation’

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A Liberal Democrat MP has been suspended from the party after it emerged he was under police investigation, a party spokesperson said.

Cameron Thomas was arrested by Gloucestershire Police on Wednesday night, it is understood. A Lib Dem spokesperson said the party was “unable to comment further” while an “investigation is ongoing”.

Mr Thomas’ party membership is also understood to have been suspended. The former RAF officer has served as MP for Tewkesbury since the 2024 general election.

He won the seat with a majority of more than 6,000 and has previously served as a military police officer.

Details of his arrest have not been released yet.

On Wednesday night, a post appeared on the MP’s Facebook page showing him posing in the House of Commons in an England shirt, which carried the slogan “Extra Time For Dads”. It is part of a campaign calling for extended paternity leave for fathers.

A message criticising Reform was later posted on the page. Over the weekend, Thomas was in Gloucestershire attending a fair in the village of Bishop’s Cleve, near Cheltenham. He spoke with to local people and a Liberal Democrat councillor.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “Cameron Thomas MP has had the party whip suspended pending the outcome of a police investigation. We are unable to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

It is understood his membership of the party has also been suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Before entering politics, Thomas frequently spent 23 years in the RAF where he worked in telecommunications and information technology. A tour as a drill instructor inspired him to commission as a military police officer.

He served in Iraq, the Falklands Islands and the US.