London: A lawmaker who is a spokesman for Britain's Conservative Party on immigration issues was arrested, and his home and Parliament office were searched by police, the party said.
The opposition Conservatives said Damian Green, 52, was taken into custody in southeast England in connection with his political role. The statement did not say why the arrest occurred, but it praised Green for having disclosed unspecified information about the governing Labour Party's immigration polices which the Conservatives said Labour had tried to keep out of the public eye.
"Mr Green denies any wrongdoing and stands by his actions," the party said.
When asked about Green's arrest, London's Metropolitan police released a statement saying only that a 52-year-old man had been detained on suspicion of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office."
Green, a former financial journalist, was elected to Parliament in 1997 and re-elected in 2001 and 2005. He was recruited to serve as the Conservatives spokesman on immigration issues in 2005.
