Outcry as Bercow hosts bully ing debate – despite being accused of bullying!
JOHN Bercow was accused of ‘shocking arrogance’ last night after he insisted on chairing a Commons debate on bullying that encompassed allegations about his own behaviour.
The Commons Speaker yesterday allowed the debate, which centred on recent claims that bullying by MPs against parliamentary staff had created a ‘culture of fear’ at Westminster.
But in a brazen move, Mr Bercow refused to let one of his deputies take his place as the accusations were discussed – despite the fact that some of the allegations relate to him.
These include claims that Mr Bercow’s private secretary quit and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after nine months working in his office. Another senior official left after it was claimed Mr Bercow told him to ‘f*** off’.
Yesterday, Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said claims of bullying against Mr Bercow and others were a ‘huge concern’, as she announced an independent inquiry into the treatment of parliamentary staff. She told MPs she was recommending a ‘short, independently led’ inquiry to the House Commission when it meets next Monday.
Mrs Leadsom said: ‘I’m committed to stamping out all kinds of bullying and harassment in Parliament, in order to create an environment in which everyone feels safe and is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.’
She added: ‘Mr Speaker, I am more determined than ever that we banish all kinds of harassment and bullying from this place because make no mistake, there is a need for change.’
Tory former minister James Duddridge questioned Mr Bercow’s decision to chair the debate, but Labour MPs shouted ‘shame’ at him. He asked: ‘Is it appropriate that Mr Speaker remains in his place when there are allegations against him, which he is trying to suppress using taxpayer-funded money through sending out letters through Speaker’s Counsel?’
Last night Mr Duddridge told the Mail: ‘It is shocking arrogance that he believes he can chair a debate into this own behaviour. His position is untenable. He must step to one side.
‘He should do the honourable and stick to his manifesto promise of going before June 22. Today has demonstrated his stupidity, sitting as judge and jury. The sooner he goes, the better.’
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas secured the urgent question following claims by BBC Two’s Newsnight about alleged bullying of women officials responsible for running the business of the House. The report included a claim that Mr Bercow shouted at and undermined his former private secretary Kate Emms, leading to her being signed off sick. It is understand Miss Emms now works as an adviser to Mrs Leadsom.
Mr Bercow has denied the allegations, as have the two other MPs named by the programme – Labour’s Paul Farrelly and Tory Mark Pritchard.
Miss Lucas said MPs and the public would have been ‘shocked’ by the Newsnight allegations. She added that the positive work to tackle abuse and harassment in Westminster ‘risks being undermined if we continue to allow sanctions to be determined by a committee on which MPs effectively hold all the power’, as she called for an independent body to deal with the whole process.
Mr Farrelly told MPs he had been ‘flayed by selective leaking’ and said the Newsnight report had been ‘one-sided’.
Labour MP Barry Sheerman warned that the accusations risked becoming ‘a new type of McCarthyism’. When Mr Bercow became Speaker in 2009 he pledged to serve a maximum of nine years, but last May he said he planned to stay until 2022.
‘Demonstrated his stupidity’