Lord Foulkes defends Bercow in row over bullying
A LABOUR peer has dismissed bullying allegations against Commons Speaker John Bercow as a vendetta, describing a former senior Parliament official who came forward as an “arrogant, ignorant man”.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock said Mr Bercow’s treatment at the hands of the media had been “disgraceful”, and insisted journalists had failed to challenge some of the claims made by his alleged victims.
Mr Bercow has faced calls to step down after being accused of bullying two former private secretaries, Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms. Mr Sinclair insisted he was subject to bad language, angry outbursts and mimicry, while Ms Emms reportedly suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
But the Speaker has categorically denied the claims, and a former colleague previously suggested they may be the result of “people settling old scores”.
Lord Foulkes, a former Labour minister who is now a life peer, insisted the entire row had been blown out of proportion.
He said: “I think the way Bercow is being treated at the moment is disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful. He could complain to [newspaper regulator] IPSO but he would get nowhere.”
He told The Herald alleged victims and witnesses were “not being challenged by the media”, adding: “I think the whole thing is built up into a vendetta, rather than balanced coverage of what’s happened. I know a lot of people who worked for him and work for him now, and they are not getting quoted.”
Lord Foulkes also attacked former senior Parliament official David Leakey, who accused Mr Bercow of presiding over a climate of “fear and intimidation”.
Mr Leakey, who served as Black Rod from 2010 to 2017, making him responsible for keeping order in the House of Lords, said he had experienced the Speaker’s “bullying and unreasonable” behaviour first-hand.
He told the BBC that Mr Bercow had “banged the table, yelled and was highly insulting to me personally” following a disagreement over seating arrangements at Westminster.
But Lord Foulkes dismissed Mr Leakey as an “arrogant, ignorant man”, who was getting “huge coverage” over his allegations. He added: “This is being blown up out of all proportion.”
Dame Laura Cox, QC, is pushing forward with an inquiry into allegations of bullying by MPS, but it will not investigate individual claims.