Jozsef Szajer: Hungary MEP quits after allegedly fleeing gay orgy

An MEP from Hungary's ruling party, which is hostile to LGBT rights, has quit after he was caught attending what Belgian media describe as a gay sex party in Brussels on Friday. Jozsef Szajer, a top member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, was stopped by police after reports of a house party violating lockdown rules. Prosecutors say he was found with drugs as he tried to flee the gathering, reportedly shinning down a drainpipe. He apologised for "a personal failing".

Jozsef Szajer's resignation, followed by his confession that he took part in what media have described as a "gay orgy", is a serious blow for Fidesz, which has governed Hungary for the past decade. Mr Szajer was one of the founders of Fidesz in March 1988, and remains a close confidant of Prime Minister Orban. He has been an MEP for 16 years, for the past 11 as chief whip and vice-president of the European People's Party. He has played a key role in keeping Fidesz inside the conservative political grouping, despite fierce criticism. He is married to Tunde Hando, former president of the National Judiciary Office, now a Constitutional Court judge. The sex scandal is particularly embarrassing for a party which campaigns for traditional family values and recently proposed a law to ban gay adoption.