'MP held over Houses of Parliament bar assault'

A man, understood to be Labour MP Eric Joyce, has been arrested on suspicion of assault following a disturbance at the Houses of Parliament.

Police said officers had detained a man in his 50s after being called to reports of an incident at a House of Commons bar at about 22:50 GMT.

The man is currently being held in custody at a central London police station. It is not known how many people were involved in the incident.

Mr Joyce is the MP for Falkirk.

He was elected in December 2000 and has served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to a number of government ministers since 2003.

He was PPS to the then Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth until 2009, and prior to that had been a parliamentary aide to John Hutton, Mike O'Brien and Margaret Hodge.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We were called at approximately 10.50pm last night [Wednesday] to reports of a disturbance at a bar within the House of Commons.

"A man aged in his 50s was arrested by officers on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody in a central London police station. Inquiries are continuing."