Labour MP suspended over ‘harassment’
A FORMER Labour minister has been suspended over accusations of sexual harassment.
Ivan Lewis, the MP for Bury South, was already being investigated by party officials over allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
He has been accused by a woman of repeatedly touching her leg and inviting her to his house in 2010, when she was just 19.
The woman confirmed last week that she had lodged a formal complaint with the Labour Party.
A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “The Labour Party takes all allegations of sexual harassment extremely seriously. Ivan Lewis is currently suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.”
Mr Lewis, 50, has previously denied making any “non-consensual sexual comments or sexual advances towards women”.
He has served as shadow Northern Ireland secretary until Sept 2015 and as a minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
In 2011, leaked US cables claimed that Mr Lewis “had been forced to apologise in 2007 to a female in his office who accused him of sexual harassment”. The remark is thought to refer to an episode when he sent suggestive text messages.
The diplomatic cable suggested the incident was leaked by Downing Street in 2008 to discredit Mr Lewis after he criticised Gordon Brown following a by-election defeat. It continued: “Lewis reportedly remains a bit of a hound dog where women are concerned. He was married quite young – in his very early 20s – and has had marital troubles in the last few years.”
Mr Lewis’s lawyer said last week: “Mr Lewis has previously acknowledged that on some occasions his invitations to people he works with to join him for dinner or drinks have made them feel uncomfortable.
“He has always sought to behave with integrity and is genuinely sorry if he got it wrong in some circumstances. He fully supports the rights of women to raise these issues, and stresses his commitment to equality and fairness in the workplace.”
It came as the results of a confidential survey among parliamentary staff found almost one in five who work for an MP or Lord have been bullied. A total of 19 per cent of those polled said they had been bullied either directly by the member who hired them or, indirectly, through a line manager.
And 58 per cent said they had suffered from stress, according to the survey by the union Unite.