Bercow accused of shirking his duty to keep MPs’ staff safe
MINISTERS have accused John Bercow of “shirking responsibility” for the protection of MPs’ staff after he claimed that it was up to political parties to adopt effective “grievance schemes” to handle complaints.
Government sources said that the Commons Speaker appeared to be trying to “deflect” from the duty of parliamentary authorities to police the behaviour of MPs.
Theresa May issued a veiled warning to the Speaker that “it cannot be right” that serious issues relating to behaviour in parliament “are dealt with on a party political basis”. Responding to Mr Bercow’s public demand for parties to produce their policies for dealing with complaints, the Prime Minister also pointed out that party grievance procedures would not cover the Speaker, who sits as an independent MP.
The row came as the Lord Speaker separately appeared to go further than Mr Bercow’s comments on the Commons, by stating that peers’ secretaries and researchers should be “guarded” in the same way as staff employed by Parliament itself.
Mr Bercow has declined to express a view on whether Commons rules should be extended to cover MPs’ staff, to close a loophole preventing the Standards Commissioner from investigating any complaints about abuse or harassment by their employers. But Lord Fowler told The Sunday Telegraph: “I think we’ve got a good system in place for staff and I would just wish to ensure that everyone inside the House of Lords is guarded and protected in the same way, so if we can strengthen it we will strengthen it.”
Separately, Lord Bew, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, told the BBC yesterday: “The parties need to get a grip of this issue of accountability. It’s vital these things are not seen to be done in-house.”
On Monday Mr Bercow delivered a statement pointing out that MPs’ staff were directly employed by their bosses. He said that he would “consider” an idea proposed by Mrs May for a “House- wide” grievance scheme, but added: “In the first instance I hope that parties will live up to their responsibilities, demonstrating both an appetite for change and a practical means of delivering that change without delay. Make no mistake, there is a need for change.”
One government source said: “The Speaker is clearly shirking responsibility for addressing this issue.”
A spokesman for the Speaker said he was “committed to playing his part in improving the working conditions of MPs’ staff and protecting them from harassment”. She added: “However, it is untrue to claim that the Speaker is empowered to independently create a legally binding disciplinary system over members and members’ staff.”