Battling British MP won't resign

• Tweet

LONDON, March 3 (UPI) -- Eric Joyce, a Labor member of the British Parliament charged with an assault in a House of Commons bar, says he will not resign before the next election.

After Joyce's arrest last week on an assault charge, reports surfaced this week that he had a romantic relationship with a teenager who volunteered for party work in 2010 in his constituency in Falkirk, Scotland, the Daily Mirror reported. Joyce says he and the girl were friendly for several months but not having a sexual relationship.

The Labor Party suspended Joyce after his arrest on Feb. 22 in the Strangers Bar. He allegedly became upset at the number of Conservatives in the bar, head-butted one and attacked two others who tried to stop him.

Friends told the Mirror that Joyce says he will not run in the next general election, which is scheduled in 2015. But he has also said he has no intention of quitting.

Members of Parliament cannot be forced to resign unless they are sentenced to a year or more in prison.