Plot to unseat Bercow gains impetus amid bullying claims

CONSERVATIVE MPs are threatening to challenge John Bercow with a barrage of parliamentary questions and motions following allegations about his behaviour if he refuses to step down as Commons Speaker.

A growing number of Tories are questioning Mr Bercow’s position after two former senior officials accused him of bullying last week. Number 10 has said that the accusations should be investigated.

One MP said: “He is up against the ropes. There are people working out how we get to the end game.”

Last week, MPs highlighted how, in the run-up to his election as Speaker, Mr Bercow formally pledged to stay in the role for no longer than nine years – a deadline which comes up on June 22.

The MP added: “June 22 is a pressure point. If he is still there on June 23, he is going to be there for a while and we would need to get him out with a crowbar. I think there will be a point in the next week or two where we start throwing the kitchen sink at him.”

Another MP, Andrew Bridgen, is sending a complaint to Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner. Last week, Angus Sinclair, Mr Bercow’s former private secretary, told the BBC’s Newsnight that the Speaker was prone to “over-the-top anger”. He claimed Mr Bercow had undermined him in front of other staff and once smashed a mobile phone over his desk.

David Leakey, a former senior official in the Lords, later said he had experienced similar outbursts.

Mr Bercow has strenuously denied the allegations against him. A spokesman for the Speaker said he and Mr Leakey were “very different people”.