MP told: Say sorry again and mean it

A TORY MP is facing a one-day suspension from Parliament for ‘undermining’ an apology he gave in the Commons for bullying staff.

Daniel Kawczynski should apologise again in the House after interviews he gave appeared to cast into doubt the sincerity of his earlier apology, the Commons Standards Committee recommended.

The committee said the MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham had been required to apologise ‘unequivocally’ for breaching rules on bullying and harassment following a complaint by Commons staff.

‘Although he says he was sincere by the time he made the apology to the House, he had that morning effectively undermined the sincerity of that apology by broadcasting the fact that he was making it because he was required to do so and he disagreed with the way the case had been conducted,’ the committee said.

That morning, he told an interviewer from BBC Radio Shropshire: ‘I have no alternative but to apologise because if I don’t apologise then I risk the option of being sanctioned further.’

An investigation by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone found he also breached confidentiality rules by identifying the complainants through their job titles.

normally it would merit a more serious sanction but the committee acknowledged the MP’s commitment to working on his ‘attitude’: ‘Mr Kawczynski has demonstrated to us that he is contrite.’