ZERO TOLERANCE
Party bigwigs pledge tough stance on sleaze as Labour MSP Monica Lennon reveals she was attacked at event
SENIOR Labour figures yesterday promised “zero tolerance” of sexual harassment after a female MSP revealed she was groped by a party colleague – only to have the incident dismissed.
Scottish Labour were left reeling after Monica Lennon MSP told how she was sexually assaulted at a social event by a party colleague four years ago in front of a room full of people.
Her revelations came as SNP MSP Mark MacDonald was forced to resign as a government minister over his past behaviour and it emerged a second SNP MSP Willie Coffey was reported to parliamentary authorities after a civil servant complained about his behaviour.
Holyrood came under the focus of
sexual harassment claims after Lennon, 36, became the most senior UK politician to claim she has been a victim of an assault.
She told the Record’s sister newspaper the Sunday Mail: “It happened at a Labour Party social event in 2013, before I was an MSP. It was a private function, a room full of people.
“A man, who was a senior figure in the party, touched me in a manner that some would say is ‘handsy’. He was sitting next to me when he groped me, in full view of other people.
“I don’t want to go into the full details but he touched my body, in an intimate way, without invitation or permission. This shouldn’t happen to anyone.
“It’s possible at least half a dozen people saw exactly what happened.
“One man, who at the time was a Labour politician, joked to everyone in earshot, ‘That’s your fault for coming over here and getting him all excited’.
“A few days later, I ran into another man who had seen what happened and he made a jokey reference to it.
“The underlying message was clear, the whole thing was to be treated as a joke.”
Lennon also said that having made an initial complaint to the Scottish Labour Party, she decided not to progress with it because she felt she would not be believed.
She is the third member of Labour to claim a lack of help, following an allegation of rape by activist Bex Bailey and an ignored harassment complaint by Ava Etemadzadeh last week.
Lennon, who was elected to Holyrood last year and is now the party’s spokeswoman on inequalities, said she chose to speak out to highlight that sexism is rife in politics, not just at Westminster and Holyrood.
Labour leadership candidate Richard Leonard said he was appalled by Lennon’s experience.
He said: “Monica’s bravery to speak out should not be in vain. Our party must do more to be part of the solution.
“That means zero tolerance for a culture that permits the abuse of power in politics and across society and seeks to silence those who have been wronged.
“This isn’t just about Hollywood or Holyrood, this is also about all workplaces. No industry or organisation should be above the toughest of scrutiny and no one should go to work feeling unsafe, harassed or abused.”
A Labour Party spokesman said no official complaint had been made by Lennon but that the party take all complaints of sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination extremely seriously.
The official added: “We ask that anyone with a complaint comes forward so that allegations can be properly investigated.
“When evidence of misconduct comes to light, all appropriate disciplinary action is taken in line with the party’s rule book and procedures.”
The message was clear, the thing was to be treated as a joke MONICA LENNON