The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Labour MP suspended as whip takes defence brief
INVESTIGATION: Complaint made against former frontbencher
Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins has been suspended from the party “on the basis of allegations received”, a spokesman has said.
The former frontbencher, who represents Luton North, has had the whip withdrawn while an investigation into the claims is carried out.
Labour said it takes complaints “extremely seriously” and has “robust” systems in place to deal with them.
A spokesman said last night: “On the basis of allegations received by the Labour Party today, Kelvin Hopkins has been suspended from party membership and therefore the Labour whip, while an investigation takes place.”
Mr Hopkins, a former shadow culture secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, faces claims he sent suggestive texts and behaved inappropriately.
Ava Etemadzadeh, 27, told the Telegraph she had invited the MP to speak at an event at Essex University in 2014 in her role as chairwoman of its Labour society.
Ms Etemadzadeh informed the whips office at the time of the incident and said a local party member contacted the leader’s office last year to raise concerns about the allegations.
It is understood she made fresh allegations when she contacted the party yesterday.
Earlier yesterday Chief Whip Gavin Williamson was appointed as the new defence secretary after Sir Michael Fallon’s resignation.
The 41-year-old’s appointment by Theresa May to one of the Cabinet’s most senior posts provoked widespread surprise at Westminster, as he has never before held ministerial office.
And there were signs of consternation in Conservative ranks, with some backbenchers suggesting the South Staffordshire MP lacks experience and may have earned his meteoric rise by his staunch loyalty to the Prime Minister.
One Tory former minister, who did not want to be named, said some of the party’s MPs were in “head-in-hands despair” at Mr Williamson’s “bizarre” appointment.
“The feeling is it’s just a move that demonstrates Theresa May’s own weakness by allowing the guy who suggested to her that Fallon should go to take that job,” the MP told the Press Association.
“It’s a bizarre appointment from somebody who’s so shell-shocked she doesn’t know which direction to turn in and so is listening to the person she just likes and trusts rather than having a view about it herself.”
And in an apparent reference to Mr Williamson’s promotion, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston tweeted: “There are times when offered a job that it would be better to advise that another would be more experienced and suited to the role.”
Sir Michael quit on Wednesday after admitting his behaviour had “fallen below the high standards required” in the role and acknowledging what might have been acceptable in the past was no longer appropriate.
He was one of the most senior ministers to be caught up in a wave of allegations of improper behaviour swirling around Westminster, after admitting putting his hand on the knee of radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer some years ago.
Mr Williamson was replaced as chief whip by his former deputy Julian Smith, while Tatton MP Esther McVey – a former TV presenter who served as a minister in David Cameron’s government – was made deputy chief whip.
Mr Williamson said he was “determined to ensure that the armed forces receive the recognition they deserve for the great work they do.