Female Cabinet minister ‘pinned up against a wall’ by male MP

A female Cabinet minister has said she was once “pinned up against a wall” by a male MP as she told colleagues to “keep your hands in your pockets” amid renewed accusations of misogyny and sexual misconduct in Parliament.

International Trade Secretary Anne-marie Trevelyan told LBC Radio: “I’ve witnessed and been at the sharp end of misogyny from some colleagues many times over.

“We might describe it as wandering hands, if you like, we might describe it as, you know, a number of years ago being pinned up against a wall by a male MP who is now no longer in the House, I’m pleased to say, declaring that I must want him because he was a powerful man.

“These sorts of things, these power abuses, that a very small minority, thank goodness, of male colleagues show is completely unacceptable”.

Ms Trevelyan added she had been subjected to “wandering hands” by “half a dozen” men inwestminster,someofwhom were “repeat offenders”.

On Sky News, the Trade Secretary told male colleagues to “keep your hands in your pockets and behave as you would if you had your daughter in the room”.

She said the vast majority of her male colleagues are “delightful” and “committed parliamentarians”.

Ms Trevelyan added: “But there are a few for whom too much drink, or indeed a sort of, a view that somehow being elected makes them, you know, God’s gift to women, that they can suddenly please themselves, that is never OK, that kind of behaviour, disrespect for women.”

It comes as Boris Johnson comesundergrowingpressure to remove the whip from Tory MP Neil Parish, who is accused of watching pornography in the Commons chamber, and as agrowingchorusofseniorministers hit out at Westminster’s “shameful” culture.

Ms Trevelyan described the claims as “completely unacceptable”, but declined to say whether Mr Parish should be sacked.

She said she is confident that chief whip Chris Heaton-harris will “take a decision that’s appropriate”.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister described the pornwatching allegations as “totally unacceptable”.