Belgian police arrest 25 men including MEP as sex party breaks curfew

A group of 25 men, said to include an MEP who injured himself as he attempted to flee through a window, have been arrested by Belgian police for breaching the coronavirus lockdown after being discovered at a sex party above a bar in Brussels.

The illegal gathering, staged on Rue des Pierres just a few yards from a police station and close to the Grand Place in the Belgian capital’s historic city centre, was broken up by police on Friday evening.

According to local reports, as the police entered the building an unnamed MEP sought to escape on to a window ledge but hurt himself in the process. He then claimed diplomatic immunity.

Diplomats posted to Brussels to represent the 27 EU member states were also reportedly among the group, many of whom were found naked. Drugs were also discovered at the scene. A source told the DH Sports newspaper: “We interrupted a gang bang”.

Brussels is under a 10pm to 6am curfew, and all bars and restaurants have been ordered to shut until mid-January. Masks must be worth both indoors and outdoors in public spaces, and gatherings of more than four people are prohibited. Individuals found to have breached the regulations face a €250 (£224) fine.

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MEPs cannot be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings because of opinions expressed or votes cast, but they do not have immunity when found committing a criminal act.

Officials from the Belgian ministry of foreign affairs were said have been called for guidance in the early hours of the morning and the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, was informed.

The men were released from custody but a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said an investigation was continuing. He declined to identify those involved.

The spokesman said: “I can confirm that about 20 people were fined for failure to comply with health measures following an evening party organised on Friday evening on the first floor of a building in the centre of Brussels. The procedure is ongoing.”

A source in the European parliament said: “There is nothing wrong to participate in a sex party of any kind. However such kinds of meetings with many people are illegal under the coronavirus laws. The fact of being covered by parliamentary immunity does not exempt anyone from obeying the law.”