Jared O’Mara, the independent MP for Sheffield Hallam, has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, the Daily Mirror have reported.
They say he was arrested by South Yorkshire Police a week ago, alongside his office manager Gareth Arnold. Both men were later released without charge at the weekend, pending further investigations into allegations of fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud respectively.
Police officers are said to have removed computers and documents from O’Mara’s office in Sheffield city centre in order to aid their investigations. The Mirror say the allegations could relate to the MP’s parliamentary expenses.
This comes just weeks after the news Jared O’Mara, who was elected for the Labour Party in 2017, is set to step down from his seat when Parliament returns from recess in September after a series of scandals. The latest of these came last month, when Arnold published a series of tweets on the MP’s Twitter account, announcing his resignation.
Read more: Jared O’Mara staff member quits in series of incendiary tweets
However, it is understood that nearly a month on he is still working for the Member of Parliament.
There is likely to be a by-election in the seat, which includes large parts of Endcliffe and Ranmoor student villages, when O’Mara tenders his resignation. The Liberal Democrats have currently nominated Laura Gordon, a doctor, while Labour have selected Olivia Blake, the former deputy leader of Sheffield City Council.