Top Tories braced for fresh sex claims in Pestminster scandal
A SENIOR Conservative politician is facing allegations of sexual misconduct from a fellow MP, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The former Tory Minister is expected to be named in an upcoming television documentary on scandals in Westminster.
The allegations were reported by the fellow MP to Parliament’s harassment watchdog, the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), this year.
Meanwhile, a Cabinet Minister is also facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with young staffers. A woman MP, who is not one of the complainants, told the MoS that as a Parliamentary candidate she had been warned about the Minister. ‘I was told: stay away,’ she said.
A Government source said last night: ‘We take all allegations of this nature incredibly seriously and would encourage anyone with any allegations to come forward to the relevant authorities.’
Parliamentary authorities last night said they are worried about significant damage to trust in MPs with the new wave of ‘Pestminster’ cases expected to come to light this month, hot on the heels of recent scandals.
A senior source said: ‘It erodes trust. It stops good people from wanting to join [Parliament].’
House of Commons authorities and Tory party figures are expecting the allegations against the two Conservative politicians to be disclosed in an upcoming Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.
A spokesman for Channel 4 last night denied the programme was
‘They don’t get it. They think resigning is wrong’
working on a Pestminster report. A spate of revelations have rocked the House of Commons recently.
Tory Neil Parish resigned from Parliament after admitting watching pornography in the House, including in the Chamber.
Mr Parish claimed the first time he watched porn in Parliament was accidental after he had been looking at tractors online, but that the second time was ‘a moment of madness’.
A female Tory MP last week said several male colleagues have since privately defended Mr Parish and said he should not have resigned.
‘They don’t get it,’ she said. ‘They think it’s the wrong outcome.’
In April, Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigned his Wakefield seat after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.
Parliamentary authorities told the MoS that they are concerned that Tory MP David Warburton plans to return to the Commons this week.
Mr Warburton was last month suspended from his party over sex and drugs allegations. He is being investigated by the ICGS after images, audio recordings and messages emerged that implicated him in unwanted advances to women and the use of Class A drugs.
When the allegations became public, Mr Warburton said: ‘I have enormous amounts of defence, but unfortunately the way that things work means that doesn’t come out first.’ He said he had not been contacted about any investigation and intends to return to Parliament.
A source said of Mr Warburton’s return, which current rules allow: ‘It’s shameless.’ It is understood the Speaker is examining ways to prevent MPs facing such allegations from being allowed on the estate.
The ICGS said: ‘We cannot confirm or deny any current investigations.’