Teenager claims Eric Joyce ‘took advantage of her’ during alleged affair

THE teenage girl who is reported to have had a relationship with Scottish Labour MP Eric Joyce yesterday claimed that “he took advantage” of her during an alleged three-month affair.

Falkirk MP Joyce, who has been suspended from Labour after being charged with assault following an incident in a bar at the Houses of Parliament, was reported to have formed a relationship with his former researcher Meg Lauder, when she was just 17 and still at school.

Ms Lauder, is now 19 and helped Joyce during his 2010 general election campaign.

However, Mr Joyce has denied the allegations and has insisted that he did not have a sexual relationship with the teenager. Former army major Joyce was also reported to have confessed to a constituent in a taped conversation about his involvement in drunken brawls.

Joyce was said to have boasted about “punching these guys” as he talked about his alleged involvement in a fight at a Perth hotel in 2006.

He is accused of assaulting Stuart Andrew, the Tory MP for Pudsey, in the Stranger’s Bar at Westminster during an alleged incident last month.

It was claimed that Joyce had been drinking for much of the day and allegedly lashed out after Mr Andrew asked him to quieten his singing.