Tory MP Patrick Spencer accused of groping two women at Groucho club weeps in the dock as his wife tells jury he is 'kind' and 'compassionate'

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 15:48, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 15:50, 15 July 2026 A Tory MP accused of sexually assaulting two women at London's exclusive Groucho club today denied deliberately touching either complainant's breasts and broke down in tears as his wife told jurors he is a 'kind', 'gentle' and 'compassionate' husband.  Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, told a jury his behaviour on the night in question had been 'wildly misjudged' and 'ultimately inappropriate' but insisted he never intended to touch either woman sexually. Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, the father-of-two, 38, said he had spent the day watching rugby before arriving late at the Soho private members' club, where he admitted he was drunk but 'not out of control'. Spencer, wearing a navy suit and white shirt, rejected allegations he sexually assaulted the two women on the evening of August 12, 2023.  Asked by his barrister Eleanor Laws KC whether he had deliberately placed his hands on either woman's breasts, he replied: 'No.' When asked if he had intended to sexually touch anyone, he again answered: 'No.' The MP wept in the dock as his wife Anna entered the witness box to be questioned. Mrs Spencer, a teacher, said she had watched CCTV of the alleged incidents at the club and was fully aware of the allegations against her husband.  Anna Spencer (pictured right) was asked to describe her husband's personal qualities during questioning. She said he was 'kind', 'gentle' and 'compassionate' Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, denies two counts of sexual assault. He is seen arriving to Southwark Crown Court She said she had never known him to inappropriately touch, look, or make sexual remarks about 'any woman ever' in 20 years.   'As a husband Patrick is kind, he's gentle, he's compassionate,' she said. 'He's thoughtful, he supports every hobby, phase, whatever it is I choose to do. He makes me feel braver than I really am. 'He is the most wonderful father, they adore him.' Asked to describe his personal qualities, Mrs Spencer replied: 'The first word that comes into my head is kind. He's kind, he's honest.' She said her husband could sometimes appear socially awkward and did not always read social situations perfectly, adding his facial expressions are a 'little odd'.  'Patrick is naturally quite awkward, but very intelligent,' she said. When asked if she shared her husband's politics, Mrs Spencer told the court: 'We share virtually no political views from the smallest to the biggest.' Spencer is seen on CCTV inside the Groucho club in Soho on the evening of August 12, 2023 She added: 'He's just a really nice man. I come from a generation of women who have lived in London and walked home with their keys in their hand and changed outfits and I chose to marry him because he's not that man.' Asked whether anything in the CCTV footage had caused her to reconsider giving character evidence, she replied: 'Never.' She said her husband may be tactile and an extrovert, but that does not mean he is promiscuous, adding he 'wants everybody around him to be happy'.  The MP told jurors he had studied at Leeds University before working at the Centre for Social Justice, the Department for Education and later the Jobs Foundation. He then decided to stand for Parliament and was elected MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich at the 2024 general election.   'I was interested in public policy, I was interested in education and I wanted to give it a go,' he said of his decision to enter politics.  Spencer insisted he had never been unfaithful to his wife and had never behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner or intentionally made anyone feel uncomfortable. Recalling the evening, the MP said he had consumed wine and beer while watching a rugby match with his father, billionaire businessman and Conservative Party donor Lord Michael Spencer, before heading for dinner with friends at the Groucho club. 'I had a wine at lunch and beers at rugby, it would have been over a long period of time, but I was pissed,' he told the court. 'When I walked into the Groucho I was fine, in high spirits, merry, not out of control.' Anna Spencer (pictured right) is seen arriving at a London court on the first day of the trial The Groucho club is an exclusive members' club in Soho (pictured) The politician said the CCTV footage showed he was 'clearly stumbling', but said he could not remember being heavily affected by alcohol. He described the atmosphere inside the club as upbeat, telling jurors: 'Everyone was in high spirits enjoying themselves. Peak summer, everyone was happy.' Spencer said he was later asked to leave the venue and went home without collecting his jacket from the cloakroom, which he retrieved several days later.  He said he could not remember being ejected the following morning and found the incident 'bizarre' and 'surprising' once he pieced events together. 'I just assumed I was being loud or clottish or I'd knocked over someone's glass or bumped into somebody,' he told the court.  'I was surprised, embarrassed, as someone in their mid-30s.' The court heard Spencer previously told police he had 'hugged lots of people that night' and embraced the two complainants from behind, placing his arms around the first woman's waist and his hands on the second woman's hips. Reviewing CCTV footage during the trial, Spencer said it showed him hugging a male friend before greeting one of the women in a similar manner. He denied touching her breasts.   Spencer, who lost the Conservative whip in Parliament after being charged with two counts of sexual assault, denies the allegations After being shown footage relating to the second complainant, Spencer accepted it appeared his hand may have made contact with her breast. 'It looks like [my hand] made contact with her breast,' he said. 'She throws my arms downwards and away.' He described himself as a 'tactile and huggy' person and insisted his actions were a result of being over-friendly rather than sexually motivated. 'I was just being over friendly, overzealous and overenthusiastic,' he said. He told jurors he looked embarrassed after the incident and believed his friends had witnessed a 'mortifying moment'. Reflecting on the footage, Spencer said: 'It was wildly misjudged and ultimately inappropriate to hug someone in that way in that context.' Jurors were also read extracts from his police interview following his arrest in March 2025, in which he accepted it was 'not acceptable in this day and age' to approach someone from behind and place his hands on them without a close relationship. He maintained, however, that any contact with a woman's breast would have been accidental and not sexually motivated. The MP told the interviewing officer: 'I'm a gregarious person, interested in people, I'm always interested in talking, chatting to other people so my intention would have always been friendly in nature.' The trial before Mr Justice Garnham continues. 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