London: The House of Commons deputy speaker, Nigel Evans, has been re-arrested on suspicion of indecent assault and sexual touching of two further victims.

Evans was answering bail on Tuesday after his arrest on 4 May, on suspicion of rape and sexual assault and on 19 June on suspicion of three further offences of indecent assault, when he was re-arrested.

A Lancashire police spokesman confirmed that a 55-year-old man from Pendleton, Lancashire, had been arrested.

“He will be interviewed about these new allegations at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day,” he said.

“These new offences are alleged to have been committed in London between 2002 and 2009.

“We take all allegations of a sexual nature extremely seriously and understand how difficult it can be for victims to have the confidence to come forward.”

Evans denies any wrongdoing. After his arrest in May, he said the claims were completely false and had come from two people he had once regarded as friends.

Evans has indicated that he will resign as deputy speaker should he be charged over the alleged sex attacks.

On Tuesday night, a close friend said: “Nigel has said he will definitely resign if the police have decided to charge him.

“He continues to maintain that he is completely innocent, but will resign as deputy speaker so that he can focus on his defence in open court.”

It is understood that Evans feels he is currently in “limbo-land”, neither in the chair as deputy speaker nor in the chamber as an MP. The Speaker’s office has previously released a statement saying that Evans will remain deputy speaker, but will not resume chairing duties while police investigations continue.

The original allegations of rape and sexual assault, which prompted Evans’s arrest in May, relate to incidents said to have taken place in Pendleton between July 2009 and March 2013.

The following month he was re-arrested shortly after arriving at Preston police station. This time he was told of three further allegations of indecent assaults, again involving men. These were said to relate to incidents that occurred in Blackpool and London between 2003 and 2011.

In all of the cases, for which Evans was arrested in May and June, the complainants were men who were in their 20s at the time of the alleged offences.