Top Tory arrested over rape claim
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2013/09/28/21/Greater%20Manchester%20Police%20arrested%20a%2075-year-old%20man%20following%20a%20complaint%20of%20an%20historic%20rape%20that%20occurred%20in%20the%20Manchester%20area%20in%20the%20late%2060s_1.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1024)
A top Conservative official has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in the 1960s.
Tory vice-chairman Alan Lewis, 75, who was appointed by David Cameron, was held by police after a woman claimed she was attacked by him when she was a girl.
The self-made tycoon, who owns the Crombie clothing chain and is thought to have a fortune of between £220 and £260 million, was reportedly arrested at a Manchester hotel while on a business trip.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "A 75-year-old man was arrested following a complaint received earlier this year of an historic rape that occurred in the Manchester area in the late 60s.
"The man was later bailed pending further inquiries. Specially-trained officers are providing support and welfare to the victim.''
The Prime Minister gave Mr Lewis his current role as Tory vice-chairman responsible for business relations in 2010.
In 1990, he was made a CBE for his services as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry's initiative to prepare British businesses to the single market.
A Tory supporter since the early 1980s, he is a black belt in karate and a promoter of Christian healing who claims to read the Bible every day.