Ministerial code beefed up after scandals

THE ministerial code of conduct has been rewritten after a series of sex and bullying scandals hit Westminster, allowing the Prime Minister, for the first time, to sack her senior team if they behave inappropriately.

Following the departure of some of Theresa May’s most senior Cabinet ministers, the code has been beefed up to state that inappropriate behaviour “will not be tolerated”.

It came as a new survey of staff working for MPS found that four women had been victims of sexual assault and a further 18 women and one man said they had suffered harassment.

The BBC Radio 5 Live research received 166 responses, of which 39 people experienced bullying while working at Westminster and 24 said they had been bullied by the MP they worked for. Seven had been bullied by another MP, while another eight had been bullied by someone else within the House of Commons.