FORMER Home Secretary Leon Brittan has been questioned by police in connection with a rape allegation, it has been reported.

Lord Brittan, as he is now known, was understood to have been interviewed under caution last month after a woman claimed she was raped in London in 1967, according to the Independent on Sunday (IoS).

The Conservative peer, former MP for Cleveland and Whitby and later Richmond, North Yorkshire, is thought to strongly deny the allegation.

He was quoted by the IoS as saying: "I'm sorry, I'm not going to talk about anything like that."

His lawyers could not be reached for comment.

A Met Police spokesman said: "In late 2012, a woman alleged to the Metropolitan Police Service that she was raped by a man in 1967 at an address in London.

"The woman was over the age of 18 at the time of the incident.

"The allegation is being investigated by officers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

"In June 2014, a man aged in his 70s was interviewed under caution by appointment at a central London location in connection with the allegation. He was not arrested.

"Inquiries continue."

Lord Brittan, who also holds the title Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, near Richmond, was elected as an MP in 1974 and went on to serve as Home Secretary in Margaret Thatcher's government from 1983 to 1985.