Calls to expel Tory MP who asked intern to ‘fool around’
A CONSERVATIVE MP who invited an intern to “fool around” with him is under investigation by the Conservative Party, amid mounting calls for him to be stripped of the whip.
Rob Roberts, the MP for Delyn in North Wales, has also been referred to the parliamentary standards watchdog over texts sent to the young woman.
In Whatsapp messages published by the BBC, Mr Roberts told the intern that he “might be gay but I enjoy fun times” and invited her to London to “fool around”.
The woman had told the MP, who has split from his wife and came out as gay in May, she was struggling with her mental health and was in an “awful state”, according to the messages.
She later told the BBC the encounter made her feel “incredibly sick”. “I had one of the worst days ever. Then I messaged him saying, ‘I’m crying, I’m not OK.’ His solution to that was to proposition me,” she said.
Mr Roberts is also accused of asking out a male staffer who moved positions as a result. In more messages published by the BBC, the MP admitted to a parliamentary colleague “that I liked him, and asked him to dinner”. “It created a problem for him that I felt that way,” he said. The party investigation is understood to cover multiple allegations.
Last night, a former Cabinet minister said the whip should be withdrawn, adding: “It is a particularly bad look to take a light touch approach to this, and yet remove the whip from Julian Lewis.” Mr Lewis was expelled from the party last week after mounting a “coup” to become chairman of the intelligence and security committee.
‘I had one of the worst days ever. I messaged him. His solution to that was to proposition me’
Labour MP Charlotte Nichols reported Mr Roberts to parliamentary authorities on June 3 after being made aware of the allegations. She told The Daily Telegraph: “The whip needs to be withdrawn as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for the Conservative Party said: “An investigation into Rob Roberts MP’S conduct is ongoing. While Mr Roberts has apologised for his behaviour, and has been undertaking safeguarding and social media protection training, we are clear such conduct is completely unacceptable.”
Mr Roberts’s office did not respond to requests to comment.