Updated

LONDON — British media say that a senior Conservative Party politician has been arrested for questioning on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.

The reports identify the politician as Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans, a 55-year-old from Lancashire, northwest England, who has served in Parliament for two decades.

British police do not identify people arrested for questioning who have not been charged. Asked about the arrest of Evans, Lancashire police said in a statement that a 55-year-old from Pendleton in Lancashire had been arrested on Saturday on suspicion of sex charges.

It said the offenses are alleged to have happened between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton.