Labour MP Eric Joyce accused of attacking Tory MP in Commons bar brawl

The former soldier was arrested at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday night after police were called to a disturbance in one of its bars.

Mr Joyce, 51, who was suspended from the Labour Party yesterday, will appear at West London Magistrates’ Court on 7 March.

He was seen being driven away from the rear of Belgravia police station in central London at about 11:20pm last night.

He was sitting in the back of a dark hatchback, wearing a white shirt and dark suit. He appeared pale and unshaven.

His arrest followed an incident in which Conservative MP Stuart Andrew was allegedly punched and head-butted.

His predecessor, Dennis Canavan, who left Labour in protest over Tony Blair’s modernisation of the party, yesterday called for a by-election and said Mr Joyce was “not a fit and proper person to be an MP”.

It was claimed Mr Joyce had been “drinking all day” on Wednesday and singing loudly late into the evening in Strangers Bar inside the Palace of Westminster.

He allegedly head-butted Mr Andrew, the Tory MP for the Yorkshire seat of Pudsey, after he was asked to quieten down.

Witnesses said it took three MPs to hold Mr Joyce back and restrain him, and, during the melee, it has been alleged he hit one of his own party whips, Phil Wilson.

It was claimed five police officers “had to sit on” Mr Joyce in an effort to calm him down.

Following the incident, he was taken to the Metropolitan Police station in Belgravia.

Mr Andrew, an openly gay MP who has spoken in the past about being assaulted, made it clear he intended to press charges when he made a statement to police.

MPs and senior party sources cast serious doubts over Mr Joyce’s future with Labour.

He had already been forced to resign from the shadow ministerial team in late 2010 after he failed a to provide a drink-drive breath test.

Others complained he should have been deselected by the party for his involvement in the MPs’ expenses scandal before the last election.

Mr Joyce, a former army major who was first elected in a hotly contested by-election in 2000, currently has a majority of almost 8,000. But the seat would be awkward for Labour to defend because the SNP won it in the last Holyrood election.

There were also fears in the party that any by-election could be used by the Nationalists as a springboard for the independence referendum.

A senior Labour source in Scotland said: “He could end up as an independent if he is expelled from the party. Or we could get into by-election territory.”

A Labour MP said: “The last thing we want is a by-election. Better just to expel him from the party if he is found guilty and let him stay as an independent.”

Mr Joyce’s predecessor, Mr Canavan, said: “If he is found guilty of serious assault, then I hope the parliamentary authorities take action against him to suspend him from the House of Commons.

“In any event, I really do think the people of Falkirk deserve better representation than this. The sooner he goes, the better.

“I am saddened but not very surprised to hear about this latest incident. Sadly, it says as much about the quality of the Labour Party’s selection process for candidates as it does about Mr Joyce.

“He is not a fit and proper person to be an MP. My sympathies lie with the people of Falkirk, not with Mr Joyce. This all speaks volumes about the way the Labour Party goes about selecting its candidates.”

While most agreed the prospect of a by-election was remote because Mr Joyce would need to be given a prison sentence of a year or more if he was found guilty to lose his seat, a senior SNP source said the party was “keeping a watching brief on the situation”.

For now, Mr Joyce remains MP for Falkirk, but he cannot take the Labour whip in the Commons until the completion of a police investigation into the affair.

Scotland Yard confirmed that officers had detained a man in his 50s after being called to reports of an incident at a bar within the Palace of Westminster at about 10:50pm. He was taken into custody at Belgravia police station.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “This is an extremely serious incident.

“We have suspended Eric Joyce pending the results of the police investigation.”

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman said: “Assault is a very serious matter and should be dealt with seriously.

“However, it is in the hands of the police at the moment so we must await the outcome.”

One Scottish colleague of Mr Joyce’s said: “Eric’s problem is that he has no friends to stand up for him any more.”

Another said: “His career has been finished for quite some time now.”

But there was some sympathy for Mr Joyce, whose marriage broke up a few years ago.

One MP said: “I just hope that he is not hung out to dry and that he is given help.”

Others were less sympathetic and said the Falkirk MP should have been deselected over his expenses before the last election.

Mr Joyce was the highest claiming MP in most years and was the first to claim more than £1 million cumulatively.

In October 2007, he claimed £180 for three oil paintings. When asked why he had used taxpayers’ funds in such a way, he said “because they look nice”.

Mr Joyce also sought advice from HM Revenue and Customs on the sale of his second home over up to £40,000 in possibly unpaid tax.

One party source said: “The only reason he got reselected was because of the trade union vote – he is not popular in the constituency party.”

Another said: “He is innocent until proven guilty, but his future in the party and as an MP beyond the next election has been over for quite some time.”

While many of parliament’s 17 bars have closed down, including famous names such as Annie’s Bar, seven still operate in the precincts.