Simon Danczuk today admitted 'there is no fool like an old fool' after he was caught sending lewd messages to a 17-year-old girl asking if she wanted to be 'spanked' and told her: 'God I'm horny'.
The MP, who has campaigned against child abuse, has been suspended by Labour over explicit texts sent to Sophena Houlihan after she asked him for a job in his Rochdale constituency office.
Mr Danczuk said today he had been 'stupid' to sext the young drama student but claimed it was at 'an extremely low point in my life' after his split from his 'selfie queen' wife Karen, 32.
He tweeted: 'Today's story, while not entirely accurate, refers to an extremely low point in my life.
'My behaviour was inappropriate & I apologise unreservedly to everyone I've let down. I was stupid & there's no fool like an old fool'.
'I'm more saddened that this episode could overshadow the important work we're doing to help Rochdale & that's where my focus lies'.
Mr Danczuk, an outspoken critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn could be expelled and deselected before the next election.
A Labour Party spokesman said: 'The General Secretary of the Labour Party has today suspended Simon Danczuk's membership of the Party, pending an investigation into allegations published today'.
Mr Danczuk, who outed Sir Cyril Smith as a paedophile, started sending texts in July, shortly after his split from his 'selfie queen' wife Karen, 32.
Miss Houlihan claims she was bombarded with explicit messages over the next month, including ones asking to 'spank' and 'discipline' her.
Fellow Labour MP Jess Phillips today said of Mr Danczuk: 'If you have position of responsibility you have to employ it. If a 17-year-old chatted me up I would tell them to stop'.
Greater Manchester Police today confirmed the MP was accused of 'communicating inappropriately with a teenage girl', but officers 'determined that no offences have been committed'.
The messages were seen by Mr Danczuk's girlfriend Claire Hamilton, 32, who dumped him saying she believed he was messaging 'a lot' of other women online.
Miss Houlihan, a drama student who is a member of a vampire and goth website, said she was shocked by his messages - but also enjoyed the attention.
The teenager, who has just turned 18, said she was 'flattered' because she 'was in awe of him' but was later 'weirded out' because 'he is old enough to be my dad', she said.
The MP has not commented on the story - but a source close to him said they are 'two consenting adults'.
Miss Houlihan told The Sun: 'I could not believe what I was seeing when he first sent me a naughty message. I was shocked.
'He's an MP and shouldn't be behaving like that. He also had only just split up from Karen — and then he started dating Claire'.
The teenager, who lives with her mother, revealed that after a month of messaging Mr Danczuk asked her how old she was.
When she said '17', he is said to have replied: 'Good for you'.
The Rochdale MP, who led a campaign to expose his predecessor Sir Cyril Smith as a paedophile, later messaged Miss Houlihan after she posted a picture of herself in a dress on Instagram.
It was that point, she says, that their exchanges became more flirty and the two sent messages back and forth about three times a week.
Around the time of the Labour Party conference in September, Mr Danczuk is said to have suggested the pair 'meet up', before asking Miss Houlihan for a picture.
On September 18 he said they should 'meet up' and the student asked him: 'are you serious?' and he responded: 'I'm always serious! I rarely do non-serious! Let's meet up when you're ready.'
When she sent one of her wearing a revealing white body suit he allegedly wrote: 'Why aren't you here in Spain wearing that costume?! Lol', to which the teenager joked it would 'look better on your bedroom floor'.
Among the more sexually-explicit messages he sent including one where he told Miss Houlihan he was 'horny' and she was 'distracting' him from writing a book.
He also wrote: 'Right, let's get back to the sex then' when the conversation turned serious. Later he told her she was 'cheeky' and asked if she wanted him to 'spank' her, she claimed.
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