A SCOTTISH Conservative General Election hopeful has been suspended from the party after being accused of sexual assault.
Stuart Cullen is at the centre of an allegation, which he denies, dating back to his time at Oxford University several years ago.
The 28-year-old ran for the Glasgow North seat earlier this year but came a distant third, losing out to the SNP’s Patrick Grady in June. Grady won with a narrow 1,000 majority over Labour.
Mr Cullen, originally from Edinburgh, is listed as a former president of the Oxford Union debating society. He currently works for a private investment firm in London. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, who was at university with him.
The alleged victim, who has asked not to be named, issued the claims in a social media post.
A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: “We take allegations like these extremely seriously.
“Mr Cullen has been suspended with immediate effect, subject to further inquiry.
“We would encourage anyone to report such allegations to the police.”
It is understood Mr Cullen contends the allegations are false.
His advisers are thought to be confident their client would be vindicated by any such inquiry instigated by the Scottish Conservatives.
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