Labour suspends Corbyn critic in sex texts storm
‘The woman felt uncomfortable’
A PROMINENT critic of Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour Party over sexual harassment allegations.
John Woodcock was told yesterday that the whip would be withdrawn, reportedly following the direct intervention of the party’s new hard-Left general secretary Jennie Formby.
Mr Woodcock, 39, is accused of sending inappropriate texts and messages to a former female aide between 2014 and 2016.
Last night he criticised the fact that details of the allegations had been leaked at a ‘politically charged time’.
The backbencher, MP for Barrow and Furness, will now face a disciplinary hearing.
In recent years he has emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Mr Corbyn over defence policy and the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent.
He recently intervened in a Commons debate to admonish the Labour leader for his stance on Russia in the wake of the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
It was reported last month that Mr Woodcock was planning to resign the Labour whip in protest at the party’s direction under Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
He is the latest Labour MP to be suspended after accusations of sexual misconduct, joining Kelvin Hopkins and Ivan Lewis.
Late last year Labour’s ruling National Executive Commit- tee’s disputes panel referred Mr Woodcock’s case to the National Constitutional Committee. According to Huff Post, the disputes panel decided not to suspend him because the case was historic and it involved written rather than physical contact.
But following an intervention by Miss Formby, the backbencher was informed by the party whips yesterday that he is now suspended pending the outcome of his case, the website reported.
Miss Formby, a former official at the Unite union, took over as Labour general secretary last month. If the NCC decides more sanctions are necessary, Mr Woodcock could be further suspended or even expelled. Mr Woodcock said last night: ‘I do not accept the charge being brought against me but have been co-operating fully with the process and remain committed to a thorough and fair investigation of the case.
‘I am therefore very concerned that one of the very few individuals with knowledge of the case chose to place selective details of it in newspapers this weekend. Labour’s new general secretary has cited this publicity as a reason to suspend me from the Labour whip.
‘The decision at this politically charged time to place details of my case in the press and then suspend me places a serious question mark over the integrity of the process, which serves neither those making complaints nor those facing allegations.’
According to the Sunday Mirror, it is alleged that Mr Woodcock sent inappropriate texts and emails to a former aide who worked for him for two years. It is said the woman felt uncomfortable and left her job, but she claims Mr Woodcock continued to contact her.
A Labour Party spokesman confirmed Mr Woodcock’s suspension but said it ‘would not be appropriate to comment further on an ongoing case’.