Police have dropped an investigation into allegations of rape against a Conservative MP and former minister. The MP, who has not been named, was arrested on suspicion of rape on 1 August and later released on bail. He was accused of sexual offences and assault relating to four alleged incidents in London. On Sunday, however, the Metropolitan police said the allegations had not met “the evidential test”. A spokeswoman said no further action would be taken, following a thorough investigation. “The complainant has been made aware of the decision,” she said. The alleged victim told the Sunday Times she intended to appeal against the decision under the victims’ right to review scheme. The MP agreed in August not to attend the House of Commons while the allegations were investigated. The Conservative party resisted calls at the time to suspend the whip from the MP while the investigation continued. The chief whip, Mark Spencer, said it was a matter for the police to investigate. A spokesman for Spencer said: “The chief whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme, which can formally carry out independent and confidential investigations.” A Conservative party spokesman said at the time: “We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this matter is now in the hands of the police it would be inappropriate to comment further.” The investigation came days after the former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke was convicted at Southwark crown court in a separate case of sexually assaulting two women, one of whom was a parliamentary worker.