A man has been charged with arson after a major fire at Washington and Gateshead South MP Sharon Hodgson’s office, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Joshua Oliver, a 28-year-old man of no fixed address, was charged after a major fire at Vermont House in Concord, Washington, Tyne and Wear, happened in the early hours of Thursday. It gutted the premises and wrecked a small charity for people with very rare genetic diseases and an NHS mental health service for veterans, which were based in the same building.
Fire investigators were seen on Thursday at the offices in the Concord area of Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Joshua Oliver with arson following a police investigation into a fire at the offices of Sharon Hodgson MP.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
“We have worked closely with Northumbria Police as they carried out their investigation.”
Oliver will appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
The CPS urged people not share information online which could prejudice the legal proceedings.
