London: Conservative parliamentarian Mark Menzies has resigned from his post as a ministerial aide following allegations of gay sex by a Brazilian male escort.
The 42-year-old MP for Fylde in Lancashire since 2010, said a number of the claims were "untrue" and he would set the record straight.
He stepped down yesterday as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to International Development Minister Alan Duncan after an investigation by the Sunday Mirror.
The paper reported a series of allegations about Menzies` private life which it said had been made by a Brazilian man named Rogerio Santos, including claims that the MP paid him for sex and asked him to buy an illegal drug.
"I have decided to resign as a PPS tonight after a series of allegations were made against me in a Sunday newspaper. A number of these allegations are not true and I look forward to setting the record straight in due course," he said in a statement.
"We met very regularly over the past 18 months," claimed 19-year-old Santos, who is now living in Sao Paulo.
"He took me to the Houses of Parliament. Recently, he has been asking me to buy drugs. When we went to his office in Westminster I was not introduced to anyone but I still have the visitor?s permit," he said.
