Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

Indian-origin UK MP alleges Corbyn aide violated her privacy

- Prasun Sonwalkar n letters@hindustant­imes.com

:A new row has erupted in Britain’s embattled Labour Party, with prominent Indianorig­in MP Seema Malhotra accusing an aide of leader Jeremy Corbyn of entering her parliament­ary office without permission and of intimidati­on after she resigned from Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

Malhotra, who is a secondterm MP from the west London constituen­cy of Feltham and Heston, was the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, before she resigned with others from his shadow cabinet after the June 23 Brexit vote.

Seeking an investigat­ion into the ‘illegal’ entry, Malhotra said in a statement, “I have discovered that members of staff working for John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn have gained unauthoris­ed entry into my office in parliament.”

“The implicatio­ns of this are extremely serious. This is a breach of parliament­ary privilege and is a violation of the privacy, security and confidenti­ality of a member of parliament’s office. Furthermor­e, my staff, including an intern, who have always been courteous and open, have felt harassed, intimidate­d and insecure and decided themselves it would be best to not leave anyone alone in the office.”

John McDonnell is the British shadow chancellor.

Over 40 women Labour MPs have protested against Corbyn alleging intimidati­on attempts and attacks on their constituen­cy offices.

Corbyn is currently facing a leadership election after his parliament­ary party passed a no-confidence motion against him.

A spokesman for Corbyn said Malhotra’s accusation­s were "untrue" and added that his office manager Karie Murphy had been checking to see if the office had been vacated by Malhotra following her resignatio­n.

 ??  ?? AP Seema Malhotra
AP Seema Malhotra

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India