Sex scandal ‘could be worse than expenses’
Tories urge May to call inquiry as allegations against MPS threaten to engulf Parliament
THERESA MAY was under pressure from her own MPS last night to open a “comprehensive” investigation into sexual harassment after it emerged that two female members of a minister’s staff moved to other jobs because of his “inappropriate” behaviour.
The minister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have made an advance towards one of the women and made improper comments towards the other.
Mrs May has already ordered a Cabinet Office inquiry after Mark Garnier, the trade minister, admitted asking his secretary to buy sex toys for him. The Prime Minister has now been urged to get a grip of the scandal engulfing Westminster by widening the inquiry to include allegations against other ministers, in case it becomes as damaging as the MPS’ expenses saga.
It comes after an extraordinary day in Parliament in which a series of female MPS described their own experiences of sexual harassment and one disclosed that a member of an MP’S staff had reported a sexual assault with no action being taken.
In other developments:
♦ Seven Cabinet ministers and 15 other members of the Government were revealed to be on a list of 40 Conservative MPS against whom accusations have been made. Eight former ministers are also on the list;
♦ Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, said ministers “could be fired” if they make people feel “uncomfortable” with their behaviour;
♦ Mrs May faced increasing questions about how much prior knowledge she had of allegations against her own ministers and MPS after Downing Street refused to say whether she had been told about them;
♦ A video of a male Tory MP performing an unusual sex act at a party with three other people was being shared by parliamentary staff yesterday, and Conservative whips were last night monitoring online video platforms in case it was shared publicly on the internet;
♦ Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, admitted to putting his hand on the knee of the broadcaster Julia Hartley-brewer at a dinner 15 years ago.
Multiple sources have told The Daily Telegraph that two women who worked for a current government minister left his office as a result of his behaviour towards them.
Last night a spokesman for the minister claimed it was “the first he has heard of this” and that he did not “recognise” the allegations. But Tim Loughton, a Tory MP, said that if Mrs May did not get ahead of the growing scandal it had the potential to dominate politics for weeks in the same way that the MPS’ expenses row did. He said: “MPS’ expenses was death by a thousand cuts – the Commons was consistently on the back foot and gave the appearance of prevaricating and obfuscating. From the outset this has got to be completely comprehensive and transparent.”
Of the 40 Tory MPS named on a socalled “dirty dossier”, 25 are alleged to have behaved inappropriately, but 13 are named over consensual relationships or personal sexual preferences while two others got women pregnant.
Miss Hartley-brewer has always refused to name Sir Michael, saying they remain friends. A spokesman for Sir Michael said that he had apologised when the incident happened and that both he and the journalist now considered the matter closed.
The Telegraph can also reveal that a parliamentary committee raised concerns six months ago about the lack of any independent complaints system for staff employed by MPS, but nothing was done to address it. Allegations of sexual harassment are by no means confined to the Conservatives. Labour has already suspended newly elected Jared O’mara over a series of inappropriate comments, and last night the SNP announced it was investigating complaints against two party members.
Mrs Leadsom said the arrangements for dealing with complaints of sexual harassment were “inadequate” and ac- tion was needed in “days rather than weeks”. She announced plans for a new independent helpline for victims, while John Bercow, the Speaker, said there must be “zero tolerance” of harassment and bullying in Westminster.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman denied yesterday that Mrs May had been shown the dossier of Tory MPS, but declined to say whether she had been told about claims of sexual harassment made against individual MPS.