Very handsy... groped me at party: MP sex pests shamed online
THERESA May expressed ‘deep concern’ last night over claims of a list of alleged ‘sex-pest’ MPs.
The Prime Minister spoke out as Westminster was gripped by rumours over the identity of senior politicians allegedly named by female staff in a WhatsApp group.
One Cabinet minister was said to have groped a woman at a drinks party, while another was described in the messages as ‘very handsy’.
Yesterday a number of potential names were being shared in the corridors of power, amid fear in No10 that a high-profile figure was about to be outed.
A sex scandal and resignation of a senior politician could seriously destabilise Mrs May’s government.
Speculation mounted last night as Labour MP Adrian Bailey accused his party of failing to deal properly with allegations that a colleague in a position of authority sent messages of a ‘ sexually degrading nature’ that were ‘humiliating and personally abusive’ about two female members of his local party.
Accusations have also been made about the inappropriate sexual behaviour of a Conservative former minister, and a Labour MP described as ‘incredibly predatory’, the Guardian reported.
In another example, an accusation of unwanted behaviour was made on a trip abroad earlier this year, and an MP reportedly left a parliamentary delegation after allegations about their conduct.
Last night, neither Labour nor the Conservatives would confirm or deny that they had received any complaints of sexual harassment.
Mrs May’s spokesman said yesterday that unwanted sexual behaviour was ‘completely unacceptable’ and anyone who was found to have acted inappropriately would face serious action.
She added that Mrs May felt staff at Westminster should feel confident to come for- ward to report allegations, adding that they would be taken ‘very seriously’.
Members of the messaging app group also reportedly shared tales of MPs groping staff in lifts, while one minister was branded ‘not safe in taxis’. A Tory grandee allegedly had to be banned from hiring ‘leggy’ women, while several senior MPs are said to have had sex with their administrative staff in their Commons offices.
One is accused of telling staff to buy sex toys as office presents.
The supposed culprits include figures not but only ‘ surprising veteran younger names’. Yesterday the Liberal Democrats said no complaints had been made, while the Metropolitan Police said it had no record of any such reports from Westminster.
No10 said it was not aware of any allegations having been formally reported.
The House of Commons said that it did not categorise complaints by subjects, so had no record of whether it had received specific complaints of sexual abuse.
Last night Jeremy Corbyn warned that anyone making abusive comments should be ‘challenged and dealt with’.
Speaking on LBC radio yesterday, he said: ‘The atmos- phere of abuse of women is a very, very serious one. There has to be a proper system of people being able to report – women particularly – being able to report if they have been abused in any way. And have it dealt with in a timely and proper manner.’
Mrs May’s spokesman said the reports of sexual harassment, which were reported in The Sun, are ‘deeply concerning’.
She added: ‘Any allegations that may come to light will be taken seriously and we will advise people to [go] to the police if there is such an allegation so that it’s fully investigated.’
Parliamentary authorities have a limited ability to intervene because staff are employed directly by MPs, a Commons spokesman explained, but there was a 24hour helpline available for anyone to raise concerns.
He said: ‘The House of Commons takes the welfare of everyone who works in Parliament very seriously.
‘Where Members are alleged to have breached the MPs’ code of conduct it is possible for the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to launch an investigation.’
‘Incredibly predatory’