Name and shame porn MP, chief whip told
Allegations about Tory politician referred to grievance process that can take years to conclude
THE Tory chief whip was under pressure last night to name and suspend the Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the Commons amid a growing outcry from party figures.
Chris Heaton-harris has chosen not to immediately discipline the MP, who has not been publicly named, despite two female Tory MPS making the accusation on Tuesday night. Instead the allegations will be left to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), a process that can last for years and during which those accused remain anonymous.
The Daily Telegraph understands the person facing the accusations is not a relatively new MP and was not in the intakes of new Tory members from the 2015, 2017 or 2019 elections.
Boris Johnson yesterday said the alleged behaviour was “totally unacceptable”, in comments matched by a string of Cabinet members.
However, there remains no clear timetable from the whips about when the MP in question will be punished or named, raising fears that suspicion could hang over the party for weeks.
Nickie Aiken, the Tory MP who is vice-chairman of the recently formed 2022 Committee – a Tory group pushing for gender equality – said the person who is subject to the claims should quit.
The male MP “has to resign”, she told Times Radio, saying the individual was causing “pain, suffering & embarrassment” to the Conservative Party and to Parliament. One Conservative source told The Daily Telegraph: “If we wait without this person being identified it is going to cast a bad smell over all our MPS.
“There is a strong appetite for the chief to move quickly on this. It is going to do a lot of damage to a lot of people.”
The ICGS investigates accusations of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct linked to Parliament.
It was created after past criticism of how inefficiently complaints were acted upon and sees independent investigators interview whistle-blowers and those accused.
But there have been complaints that the process, which binds all involved to confidentiality, is too slow. Sometimes cases have taken years to settle.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and chairman of the Commons committee on standards and privileges, yesterday criticised the decision to use that process for these claims.
He said that conduct of MPS in the Commons chamber should be dealt with by the Commons Speaker rather than the ICGS.
Mr Johnson said yesterday: “I think it’s obviously unacceptable for anybody to be doing that kind of thing in the workplace.
“It would be the same for any kind of job up and down the country, let’s be absolutely clear about that.
“What needs to happen now is that the proper procedures need to be gone through, the independent complaints and grievances procedure needs to be activated and we need to get to understand the facts but, yeah, that kind of behaviour is clearly totally unacceptable.”
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said: “There have been several instances of inappropriate and sexist behaviour recently in Parliament. It is shameful.
“Parliamentarians are public servants and it is their duty to set an example of character and integrity. The culture of Westminster needs to change.”
A spokesman for Mr Heaton-harris said: “Following allegations of inappropriate behaviour in the House of Commons, the chief whip has asked that this matter be referred to the ICGS.
“Upon the conclusion of any ICGS investigation the chief whip will take appropriate action.”
‘If we wait without this person being identified, it is going to cast a bad smell over all our MPS’
‘There have been several instances of inappropriate and sexist behaviour recently in Parliament’