MEP Nikki Sinclaire held in European Parliament fraud probe
A West Midlands MEP has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the European Parliament.
The arrests of Nikki Sinclaire and three other people were part of an inquiry following an allegation made in 2010 into allowances and expenses.
Two women, aged 55 and 39, a man aged 19 and Ms Sinclaire, 43, have been released on police bail.
A statement on behalf of Ms Sinclaire said she disputed all allegations put to her or her staff.
She was arrested at a police station in Birmingham and the other three were arrested at addresses in Solihull, Worcester and Birmingham on Wednesday.
Officers have been carrying out searches at the addresses involved.
A statement released on behalf of the independent MEP said: "The allegations at hand are old allegations from a disgruntled ex-employee..."
The statement added that Ms Sinclaire was "eager to clear her name and has nothing to hide".
It said Ms Sinclaire attended a police station voluntarily on Wednesday, and both she and her office would "continue to fully co-operate with the police on this matter".
In a short statement, UKIP said Ms Sinclaire ceased to be an MEP for the party in 2010.
The statement said: "It would be inappropriate for the party to make any comment during the process of an ongoing police inquiry."