Be careful what you text as it could get you into serious trouble.  That’s what an MP found when he text one of his female constituents.

Apparently the MP said that he sent the texts because he thought it was the best thing to do given her circumstances.  The lady in question seemingly suffers from a personality disorder rendering her actively seeking attention.  The MP felt he had to appease her by sending inappropriate text messages.

Unfortunately for him, the lady’s support worker reported the matter to the police and Mr. Hancock was arrested.  The police however dropped the charges.  The matter was also raised with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon, but he decided not to pursue it as he believed it was outside his remit.  This has angered the lady’s family and her supporters.

Speaking with the Daily Telegraph, the woman’s solicitor said: “MPs who abuse their position of power should be held accountable in the same way as MPs who abuse the expenses system.”  These comments were also echoed by a fellow MP who said: “There has to be some type of mechanism that polices the ethics of MPs, and I believe it should be MPs that do it, in a similar way to which doctors and lawyers police their own colleagues.”

While MPs are in a position of authority, and subject to certain rules, in the wider world inappropriate texts are not generally thought to be unlawful.  However with the rapid growth in texting as an alternative to writing this could change at some point.