ACCUSATION 'WITHOUT FOUNDATION'
Former home secretary Lord Brittan has confirmed he was interviewed by police about a "serious allegation", but insisted that the accusation was "wholly without foundation".
The Conservative peer's statement followed press reports that he had been questioned under caution by police in connection with an allegation of rape.
The interview is understood to have been prompted by a complaint from a woman who claimed she was raped in London in 1967, according to the Independent on Sunday.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "In late 2012, a woman alleged to the Metropolitan Police Service that she was raped by a man in 1967 at an address in London.
"The woman was over the age of 18 at the time of the incident.
"The allegation is being investigated by officers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.
"In June 2014, a man aged in his 70s was interviewed under caution by appointment at a central London location in connection with the allegation. He was not arrested. Inquiries continue."
In a statement released by his lawyers Mishcon de Reya, Lord Brittan, 74, said: "It is true that I have been questioned by the police about a serious allegation made against me. This allegation is wholly without foundation."
Leon Brittan was elected as an MP in 1974 and went on to serve as home secretary in Margaret Thatcher's government from 1983 to 1985. He was later appointed a European commissioner.
