Shamed MP Andrew Griffiths bombarded barmaids with lewd texts reveals he was abused 

A disgraced MP who said he had been abused as a child and was suffering a ‘manic episode’ when he bombarded two barmaids with sex texts faced a backlash last night.

Married Andrew Griffiths, 48, referred to himself as ‘Daddy’ and suggested a variety of depraved acts in 2,000 messages to the women in his constituency.

After striking up a friendship on social media, the MP also sent the pair £700 for X-rated pictures and videos and asked them to tie each other up.

The explicit messages, sent over 21 days, came just two months after his wife Kate, 47, gave birth to their long-awaited first child Alice.

Married Andrew Griffiths, 48, pictured with wife Kate and baby Alice. The disgraced MP referred to himself as ‘Daddy’ and suggested a variety of depraved acts in 2,000 messages to women in his constituency

But his claims yesterday that he was in the midst of a breakdown drew short shrift. Deneice Florence-Jukes, a councillor on East Staffordshire Borough Council, said it was ‘no excuse’.

Mr Griffiths was investigated by the Tory party after Mrs Florence-Jukes accused him of bullying and inappropriate touching at a fundraising ball.

She said: ‘So now me and the many more like me who endured extreme bullying, sexual misconduct and abuse by Andrew Griffiths, in some cases for years and years, are simply victims of the “victim”.’

In his first comments since he resigned as minister for small businesses in July, Mr Griffiths revealed he had contemplated suicide and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for 31 days after being exposed in a tabloid newspaper.

The MP for Burton and Uttoxeter said he had suffered years of mental health problems after being abused as a child.

He said he sent the texts as a ‘coping mechanism’, comparing it to how some other people self-harm to deal with anxiety.

There were calls for him to stand down as MP after details of the messages sent to Imogen Treharne (pictured), 28, and her unnamed friend were published

There were calls for him to stand down as MP after details of the messages sent to Imogen Treharne (pictured), 28, and her unnamed friend were published

Tory colleagues and friends, including former minister Eric Pickles, came out in support, praising his ‘brave’ interview.

But constituents reacted angrily, saying it did not excuse his behaviour. Jessica Eaton, an author who has organised protests against Mr Griffiths, said his actions were ‘damaging to victims of abuse everywhere’.

‘Latest statistics show that around one in five British adults were abused in childhood, but they do not go on to exploit women, dress them up as pigs, call women sluts, cheat on their partners or pay women to beat each other,’ she added.

Mr Griffiths will discover this week if he can continue as a Tory MP following an investigation by the party’s internal disciplinary panel. He is due to make his first public appearance at a Remembrance event in the town, where locals have been asked not to protest.

Griffiths said he sent the texts as a ‘coping mechanism’, comparing it to how some other people self-harm to deal with anxiety (pictured in March 2018)

Griffiths said he sent the texts as a ‘coping mechanism’, comparing it to how some other people self-harm to deal with anxiety (pictured in March 2018)

There were calls for him to stand down as MP after details of the messages sent to Imogen Treharne, 28, and her unnamed friend were published.

In one, he told how he could be an ‘evil ******* when I’m turned on’. Another said: ‘I just wish my little girl was sat on my knee. With those big t*** in my face.’

Mr Griffiths told The Sunday Times that the first his wife knew of the messages was when he warned her 48 hours before the story was published.

He said he was ‘working’ on his marriage and making up for lost time with his daughter. The couple have not been seen at their home in Burton since the scandal broke, neighbours said. It is understood Mrs Griffiths has moved in with her mother.

‘I have re-read the messages I sent and they reduced me to tears,’ the MP said. ‘I am ashamed of those texts, but more ashamed that my wife had to read them. Many of them I do not even remember sending.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk