In the week when the by-election to replace him takes place, former Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton has damned the parliamentary system that drove him from office as 'dreadful and abusive whereby a person is assumed guilty until proven innocent'.

He was speaking today (Sunday, 16 July), 48 hours after the Parliamentary watchdog that found against him closed its investigation into allegations against after a judge declared its investigation 'materially flawed'.

The woman who accused Mr Warburton of sexual misconduct has withdrawn her complaints against him after the standards group in parliament conceded the investigation which had initially found Mr Warburton guilty was not carried out correctly and it needed to start again.

That prompted the investigation by the The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) which has vindicated Mr Warburton and damned the judgement process as inadequate and materially flawed when it delivered its verdict on Friday.

Mr Warburton quit as an MP after being suspended from the Conservative whip because he felt he was denied a fair hearing by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Independent Complaints and Grievances Scheme (ICGS), over the claims that he made unwanted advances to women.

He had admitted taking cocaine after drinking 'incredibly potent' Japanese whisky but denied claims of harassment.

The IEP has now confirmed that all allegations against Mr Warburton have been withdrawn and all investigations have been closed.

The IEP overturned the judgments of both the Parliamentary Commissioner and the ICGS, ruling that 'the allegation that the complaint was fabricated should be investigated by the parliamentary investigative authorities'.

The IEP decision included the verdict from its chair. former Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Stephen Irwin, that investigations in parliament against Mr Warburton were 'inadequate', as having 'omitted evidence' and upheld an appeal that it was "materially flawed" and 'procedurally flawed'.

The ICGS has written to Mr Warburton that 'we consider the matter closed' and that 'the complainant has withdrawn her complaint'.

Mr Warburton today repeated the reason he stepped down as an MP was: "In order to speak out about the appalling injustice I have experienced".  

He said that he is: "Relieved that this shocking and unutterably damaging process is now finally over and pleased finally to be vindicated" but that "If we take our democracy seriously, we shouldn't have parliamentary processes that are so flawed and one sided."

He has called for a 'complete overhaul…of the dreadful and abusive system whereby a person is assumed guilty until proven innocent…'

Mr Warburton added: "I know it's extremely rare for the Independent Expert Panel to fully uphold an appeal by an MP. 

"I'm, of course, delighted but the past year has been extraordinarily painful for my family and for me, and the personal cost has been incalculable. As a result – and in order to speak out about the appalling injustice I have experienced - I have had to step down as an MP.

David Warburton:

"The stories about me first published across the media last April were false, malicious and fabricated.

"The legal experts in the IEP panel described the parliamentary investigation I was subjected to as 'materially flawed', 'inadequate' and ruled that it should have examined evidence that the complainant 'colluded with witnesses to fabricate the complaint.' If we take our democracy seriously, we shouldn't have parliamentary processes that are so flawed and one sided.

"I'm relieved that this shocking and unutterably damaging process is now finally over and pleased finally to be vindicated, but the ICGS and parliamentary process has left deep scars and if we want people to want to come into public service, these processes need a complete overhaul - not just of its processes but of the dreadful and abusive system whereby a person is assumed guilty until proven innocent, their career and their life left in tatters."

The collapse of these claims against Mr Warburton means that, of the three long investigations he has faced over the past 15 months, the first was concluded and cleared, the second was closed with all claims dismissed, and the last has now been dropped with all allegations withdrawn. He is no longer subject to any investigation.

Mr Warburton became MP for the Somerset constituency in 2015, securing the country's biggest swing to the Tories. He won again in 2019 with a majority of more than 19,000. The by-election to replace him takes place on Thursday, 20 July.