MPS resist rules to protect staff from harassment

Victim powerless as House ‘respect rules’ apply only to MPS and Commons staff, says commissioner

MPS have resisted attempts to protect staff from sexual harassment amid allegations that young employees are being bullied and intimidated, The Daily

Telegraph can disclose.

A plan by parliamentary authorities to make MPS more directly accountable for alleged harassment was blocked, documents show.

It comes as a Telegraph investigation reveals allegations about MPS’ behaviour, including one from a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that she was “very concerned” by sexual harassment allegations made against MPS by their staff.

A government source said that there was a “coming storm” over sexual harassment in Parliament and there would need to be a “significant overhaul” of the way staff are employed.

Currently staff directly employed by the House of Commons are governed by a “respect” policy. However, when Kathryn Hudson, the Commissioner for Standards, made “strong representations” to extend the rules to include everyone in the Commons including MPS, the plan was “not agreed”. Her attempts to create other rules to protect staff met with a “mixed” response, it can be revealed.

The comments by Mrs Hudson appear in a letter to the friend of the woman who alleged she had been sexually assaulted. Mrs Hudson said that she was “concerned about the scope of existing policies and procedures”.

She wrote that she “made strong representation… for the [respect] policy… to be extended to all those who work in the House, but this was not agreed and it was restricted to House employees only”.

The commissioner also said that as part of a review into the Commons Code of Conduct, she had proposed a rule which said that “a Member must treat all those who work in Parliament with dignity, courtesy and respect”. She “made it clear that this rule would be intended to cover bullying and harassment”.

One response, by Bill Wiggin, a Tory MP, said the wording “must treat all” should be changed to “should”. He wrote: “It is a subjective standard and should be treated as such”. Mr Wiggin was not named in relation to any alleged incidents and did not respond to questions about his comments.

A government source said it was “scandalous” that any victims were left feeling they had nowhere to turn. “If people are going around groping people then it can only be a good thing if it comes out,” the source said.

Jess Phillips, Labour MP, said it was “very difficult” for junior staff to speak out and added that they needed external and independent support.

‘If people are going around groping people then it can only be a good thing if it comes out’

A WOMAN who says she was sexually assaulted abroad by an MP was told by Commons authorities that Parliament was powerless to investigate.

She made the allegation as Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was expected today to reveal there is “a warped and degrading culture that also exists and thrives in the corridors of power, including in Westminster”.

The woman said she had reported the incident to the police, but they told her they were unable to investigate because it happened overseas and was therefore outside of their jurisdiction.

Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, told the woman that she, too, was unable to act on her behalf because the House “respect policy” only “regulated the relationships” between MPS and Commons staff, not researchers and others.

“It felt like every mechanism I tried was just a dead end. I hit a brick wall,” the woman said. “Nothing has changed to prevent it happening again and I just don’t know what else I could have done about it.”

She decided to speak out as an investigation by The Daily Telegraph found that a number of young people working in politics claim to have been sexually harassed and intimidated.

Mr Corbyn was today expected to tell delegates at a Unite conference in Scotland that sexual harassment is a “widespread problem across society”, adding, “It is rooted in unequal power relationships that treat women as subordinate to men, and a culture where the abuse of women has often been accepted and normalised.

“It’s a warped and degrading culture that also exists and thrives in the corridors of power, including in Westminster.”

The behaviour described by individuals who spoke to The Telegraph on condition of anonymity included allegations of “inappropriate touching”, sexual text messages and “intimidating” calls late at night.

Several past and present researchers and assistants, as well as others working in Parliament, spoke of encounters which they termed “inappropriate”.

One said that the way an MP touched them had made them feel uncomfortable and another said one parliamentarian made “intimidating” comments about their clothing. In messages seen by The Telegraph, one MP made it clear to a woman that a younger man would be lucky to have her as his “lover”. The messages “made me feel extremely uncomfortable”, she said.

Parliamentary staff also raised concerns about allegations of bullying by MPS. One claimed that he frequently received late night telephone calls, often at 2am or 3am, about work.

“I felt it was a way to exert power [over me],” they said. MPS have admitted that it can be “difficult” for staff to raise concerns in Parliament. Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, said: “The balance of power in the building makes it very difficult for people to feel confident about speaking out and that’s got to change.”

Calling for an independent support system, she added: “That could include an independent sexual violence adviser, or a charity representative people could turn to.”

‘Nothing has changed to prevent it happening again, I just don’t know what else I could do’

A letter from Mrs Hudson regarding the woman who made the allegations said she had tried to extend the “respect policy” to all those working in Parliament, but this was not agreed and remained restricted to House employees only. “I have advocated widening its scope”, she said.

Yesterday, Theresa May said she was “very concerned” by allegations of sexual harassment made against MPS by their staff and vowed to take “serious action” if ministers were involved.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters that “any allegations that may come to light will be taken extremely seriously”.

She added: “It is essential that people feel safe going about their work whether here or in their constituency.”

Mrs May’s spokesman added: “Obviously if they are working for an MP or party they can approach the party. If it’s a serious allegation they can go to the police.

“All parties, all employers in any walk of life including politics must take this seriously. No industry or area is immune to that, including politics.”

When asked if the Prime Minister would dismiss people from government posts if allegations made against them proved to be true, she said: “She would take it extremely seriously.”

A spokesperson for the commissioner said she could not comment on private correspondence and was only able to investigate breaches of the rules in Westminster.