Serjeant at Arms ‘bullied female colleague’
PARLIAMENT’S Serjeant at Arms is being investigated over claims he verbally abused a female colleague less than a day after defending John Bercow over bullying allegations, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Kamal El-hajji, who keeps order in the House of Commons, is alleged to have “yelled” at a female security official in front of witnesses last week.
Details of the inquiry by Commons authorities emerged after Mr El-hajji wrote an article in which he described allegations levelled against Mr Bercow, the Speaker, as a “witch hunt”. In his article for The House, the internal parliamentary magazine, he said bullying allegations against Mr Bercow were nothing more than “disgruntled” former employees trying to discredit him.
He added that since being elected the first “non-white” Serjeant at Arms, “things have not been easy”, but that Mr Bercow had supported him.
The Speaker is believed to have welcomed his appointment two years ago as part of a drive to improve diversity in Parliament. However, it has since emerged that Mr El-hajji is himself locked in a row over bullying behaviour following an altercation with a female colleague whom this newspaper has chosen not to name.
A senior Parliamentary official said: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, any reported incident would be dealt with through the appropriate channels.”
It came as a briefing note by House of Commons authorities emerged last night, revealing that friendly MPS were asked to deflect attention away from allegations of bullying made against Mr Bercow. One extract suggested MPS accuse the BBC of bullying for its repeated reporting on the allegations.