Liam ‘there’s no money lef t’ Byrne guilty of bullying

A FORMER Labour Cabinet minister will be suspended from the Commons for two days for bullying a staff member.

Liam Byrne was found to have ostracised his former researcher following a dispute in his constituency office.

David Barker said the MP cut off contact with him for several months and disabled his parliamentary email account, even though he was still employed.

Mr Byrne – who infamously left a note for his successor at the Treasury after the 2010 election, warning ‘I’m afraid there is no money’ – last night said he was ‘profoundly sorry’ and had apologised.

Kathryn Stone, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, upheld a single allegation of bullying against Mr Byrne following a complaint made under Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. The expert panel which considered the punishment for Mr Byrne said the MP abused his position of power, adding that he ‘sought to present his actions as a reasonable HR strategy’ but ‘we disagree’.

‘It was bullying,’ the report said. ‘He should, as he now accepts, have tackled any misconduct through a proper disciplinary process, not by ostracising the complainant.’ As outgoing chief secretary to the Treasury following Labour’s defeat in the 2010 general election, Mr Byrne left a note to his successor saying: ‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid that there is no money. Kind regards and good luck.’

Two years earlier, when Mr Byrne was appointed as Cabinet Office minister, he produced an 11-page memo for civil servants titled ‘Working with Liam Byrne’. His demands included a cappuccino on his arrival in the office, soup between 12.30pm and 1pm and an espresso at 3pm. Mr Byrne warned officials should ‘never put anything to me unless you understand it and can explain it to me in 60 seconds... If I see things that are not of acceptable quality, I will blame you’.

Between the end of March and beginning of June 2020, Mr Byrne did not speak to Mr Barker, who worked in his Birmingham Hodge Hill constituency, except for a couple of text messages. The MP deliberately ignored WhatsApp messages posted by Mr Barker on the team’s group chat. After four weeks of being ignored, Mr Barker became unwell. Mr Byrne was made aware of this but he failed to check how he was. Mr Barker left his job at the end of July 2020 when his contract came to an end.

The panel recommended that Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Mr Byrne be suspended for two sitting days on condition that he also makes a written apology to the complainant, and undertakes training to address the causes of his behaviour and weaknesses in the management of his office.

Mr Barker, who is standing as a Labour candidate in next week’s local council elections in Birmingham, last night called on the party to remove the whip from Mr Byrne, adding: ‘Parliament deserves better.’

A Labour spokesman said: ‘The Labour Party fully supports the recommendations of this independent report.’

A spokesman for the GMB union, which represents Mr Barker, said: ‘We resoundingly condemn the despicable behaviour of Liam Byrne MP. The sanction of an apology, a recommendation for training and a suspension of just two days is far beneath what is needed to address this kind of abuse.’