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2017 Westminster sexual misconduct allegations

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The Palace of Westminster, home of the UK Parliament, where the scandals arose

A series of allegations concerning the involvement of British politicians in cases of sexual harassment and assault arose in October and November 2017. Allegations were prompted by discussions among junior staff employed in the UK Parliament at Westminster following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood earlier in October, and the subsequent rise of the #MeToo movement,[1][2][3] but spread further to cover all the major political parties, including political figures beyond Westminster.

Prime Minister Theresa May wrote to the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, asking for his assistance in establishing a "house-wide mediation service" supported by a "contractually binding grievance procedure" that would be available for all MPs. May also stated that current House of Commons disciplinary procedures required urgent reform, for they lacked "teeth".[4]

A spreadsheet that alleged various sexual improprieties by Conservative MPs – listed alongside consensual acts – was published in a redacted form by Guido Fawkes on 30 October 2017. It detailed complaints against 36 individual MPs; the complaints were said to have been compiled by aides working for the parliamentarians concerned.[5] The BBC's then-political editor Laura Kuenssberg described the list as containing "both a mixture of unsavoury allegations, reports of well-known relationships, and some claims that are furiously denied. There is just no way of knowing frankly, how much of it is true".[6]

In February 2020, historical allegations were examined in a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which claimed that both MPs and the police had turned a blind eye for years.[7]

Conservative Party allegations

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Sir Michael Fallon resigned on 1 November 2017
  • Michael Fallon, the Secretary of State for Defence, resigned on 1 November 2017 because his behaviour towards women had "fallen short" previously. He told the BBC: "The culture has changed over the years. What might have been acceptable 10, 15 years ago is clearly not acceptable now".[8] A day earlier, journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer alleged that he had repeatedly and inappropriately touched her knee during a dinner in 2002.[9] Hartley-Brewer recalled that after Fallon kept putting his hand on her knee, she "calmly and politely explained to him that, if he did it again, I would punch him in the face". She later downplayed the incident. "No one was remotely upset or distressed", Hartley-Brewer said.[8][10] It was later reported that Fallon had resigned shortly after journalist Jane Merrick had contacted No. 10 with the allegation that Fallon had tried to kiss her in 2003 by lunging at her. Fallon did not deny that this happened.[11][12]
  • Stephen Crabb, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, was reported by The Daily Telegraph (28 October 2017) to have sent sexually suggestive text messages to a young woman he had interviewed for a position in his parliamentary office which he said "basically amount to unfaithfulness".[13]
  • Mark Garnier, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade, admitted on 29 October 2017 to calling his assistant Caroline Edmondson "sugar tits" and asking her to purchase sex toys for his wife and a constituent in 2010. Garnier claimed that the "sugar tits" comment was a reference to the BBC Three sitcom Gavin and Stacey and that "It absolutely does not constitute harassment". Edmondson said in the interview with The Mail on Sunday that Garnier "suggested to me in a Commons bar one evening that we went shopping for sex toys in Soho. The next day, he said: 'Come on, let's do it.' He took me to Soho and gave me the money to buy two vibrators. He stood outside the shop while I did". An inquiry into Garnier's behaviour was announced by the Cabinet Office.[4][14]
  • Dominic Raab and Rory Stewart were both mentioned on the spreadsheet, and both denied claims of impropriety on 1 November 2017. Raab said that claims he had engaged in sexually abusive behaviour or harassed anyone were "false and malicious" and stated that the claims on the spreadsheet "need to be taken seriously". Raab said that for "anonymous individuals to compile and publish, or allow to be published, a list of vague, unsubstantiated and – in my case – false allegations is wrong" and that it was "also a form of harassment and intimidation, although of course I am not suggesting it is the same or equivalent". Stewart was described on the list as having asked his former parliamentary researcher, Sophie Bolsover, to "do odd things". Stewart said the claim was "completely untrue and deeply hurtful. Neither of us have any idea how our names appeared on the list". Bolsover said that "During my time working in parliament, Rory Stewart was never anything other than completely professional and an excellent employer".[15]
  • On 4 November 2017, Chris Pincher, the Comptroller of the Household, was accused of sexual assault by former Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop, and former Olympic rower Alex Story made allegations that Pincher had made unwanted sexual advances towards him. Later that day Pincher resigned from his position as Comptroller.[16]
  • On 5 November 2017, Dan Poulter and Daniel Kawczynski were referred to the Conservative Party's disciplinary panel following allegations of sexual misconduct.[17]
  • Damian Green, First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, was accused of sexually harassing behaviour by a Conservative activist, Kate Maltby, and was also separately alleged to have viewed pornography on his work computer. Following an inquiry into these allegations, he resigned from the Cabinet on 20 December 2017.[18]
  • Charlie Elphicke, Member of Parliament for Dover and former Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, was suspended from the Conservative Party in November 2017 after "serious allegations" made against him were referred to the police. Elphicke stated: "I am not aware of what the alleged claims are and deny any wrongdoing."[19] In March 2018, Elphicke was told that he was accused of sex offences against two members of his staff. He said in response: "I am completely confident I will be able to prove my innocence."[20] In April 2018, The Sunday Times reported that a rape allegation had been made against Elphicke in November 2017, at the height of the Westminster sex scandals, but that the police had not informed him of it for about five months.[21]

Labour Party allegations

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  • Bex Bailey, a Labour Party activist and a former member of Labour's National Executive Committee, stated that she was raped in 2011, when she was 19 years old, by someone who was senior to her in the Labour Party. The person was not a member of parliament.[22] Bailey waived her right to anonymity in 2017 to make the allegation.[23] Bailey did not initially report the rape to the police or within the Labour Party, but two years later she told a senior party official. She said that "It took me a while to summon up the courage to tell anyone in the party ... But when I did, I told a senior member of staff, who told me ... or it was suggested to me that I not report it, I was told that if I did it might damage me". After Bailey described the rape and subsequent events in a BBC Radio 4 interview on 31 October 2017,[24] the Labour Party announced an independent investigation into her allegations; Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, said that "There will be no tolerance in the Labour Party for sexism, harassment or abuse ... Whatever it takes, we are absolutely committed to rooting it out".[23]
  • Kelvin Hopkins, the Labour MP for Luton North, was suspended by his party on 2 November 2017 following a report from The Daily Telegraph of sexual harassment allegations made by a Labour activist, Ava Etemadzadeh, which included inappropriate text messages and making unwanted physical contact at a political event. Etemadzadeh first reported the incidents to party official two years earlier.[25] Labour's Chief Whip at the time, Rosie Winterton, is reported to have reprimanded Hopkins.[26] Hopkins denied the allegations of inappropriate conduct.[27] On 10 November 2017 fellow Labour MP Kerry McCarthy released correspondence that she had received from Hopkins over a 20-year period, which she stated was "unwanted attention" and "upsetting"; these were also to be given to the Labour Party inquiry as evidence of Hopkins' behaviour. They had first come into contact when both were active in the Luton Labour Party during the 1990s.[28][29]
  • Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, was accused by a 39-year-old woman of groping her at Momentum's "World Transformed" event.[30] In response to the accusation, Lewis said he was "pretty taken aback" by the accusation, and "completely" and "categorically" denied the claim.[31] He was cleared by Labour's National Executive Committee sexual harassment panel on 12 December 2017.[32]
  • Ivan Lewis, the Labour MP for Bury South, was accused of sexually harassing a 19-year-old at a Labour Party event. He denied the claim on 4 November 2017, but apologised for behaviour that "was unwelcome or inappropriate in the circumstances, and caused anyone to feel awkward".[33] He was suspended from the Labour Party and resigned a year later.[34]
  • David Prescott, an aide to Jeremy Corbyn and son of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, was suspended from his work for the Labour Party amid ongoing allegations. Prescott had been credited with improving Corbyn's image.[35] Details of the allegations were not released, and he was reinstated later in November.[36]
  • On 26 November 2017, The Sunday Times reported that an unnamed Labour Party staff member, based at its London headquarters in Victoria, had died suddenly while on suspension and during an investigation into pornographic images that were found on his computer.[37][38]

Resulting actions

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On 6 November 2017, a meeting took place between leaders of the political parties at Westminster. Theresa May proposed that a new system be set up for Westminster employees, with a hotline for abuse to be reported, and an independent grievance process. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable described the proposals as "the right first cross-party steps", and Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said that the meeting had been "broadly constructive and helpful" but that "we did not get into much of the detail".[39]

Political scandals beyond Westminster

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Scotland

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Wales

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See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Payne, Sebastian (30 October 2017). "Will sexual harassment in Westminster be as big as MPs expenses?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. ^ Stewart, Heather (31 October 2017). "Michael Fallon sorry for 'unwelcome' behaviour against female journalist". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ Cohen, Tamara (4 November 2017). "Sex pest scandal engulfing Westminster 'worse than expenses'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b Heather Stewart and Haroon Siddique (29 October 2017). "Tory minister faces inquiry after getting female assistant to buy sex toys". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. ^ "'Parliament sex pest row' as PM vows to take action". BBC News. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Calls for change in Westminster culture". BBC News. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Westminster abuse claims: Police and parties 'turned blind eye'". BBC News. 25 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b Stewart, Heather; Mason, Rowena (1 November 2017). "Michael Fallon quits as defence secretary, saying his behaviour has 'fallen short'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  9. ^ Rayner, Gordon (31 October 2017). "Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon admits touching female radio presenter's little finger at a dinner". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Michael Fallon 'apologised for touching journalist's knee'". BBC News. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  11. ^ Doward, Jamie (4 November 2017). "Revealed: why Michael Fallon was forced to quit as defence secretary". The Observer. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  12. ^ Merrick, Jane (4 November 2017). "I won't keep my silence: Michael Fallon lunged at me after our lunch". The Observer. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  13. ^ Hughes, Laura (28 October 2017). "Stephen Crabb sent young woman sexually explicit messages after rejecting her application for role in his office". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017.
  14. ^ Stewart, Heather; Walker, Peter (30 October 2017). "Theresa May to crack down as sex harassment allegations grow". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  15. ^ Walker, Peter (1 November 2017). "Tory ministers hit out at 'malicious' sexual abuse claims against MPs". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Conservative Whip refers himself to police over behaviour claims". The Independent. 5 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Three Conservative MPs referred to party's disciplinary panel just days after it was set up". The Independent. 5 November 2017. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  18. ^ Rayner, Gordon; Hope, Christopher (20 December 2017). "Theresa May's effective deputy Damian Green quits over pornography cover-up". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Tory MP Charlie Elphicke suspended after 'serious allegations'". BBC News. 3 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Tory MP Charlie Elphicke 'confident' of proving innocence after sex offence claims". Sky News. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Police failed to tell Tory MP Charlie Elphicke about rape claim". The Sunday Times. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018. (subscription required)
  22. ^ Greg Heffer (1 November 2017). "Labour investigate activist Bex Bailey's rape allegation". Sky News. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Labour activist 'warned' about pursuing rape claim". BBC News. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Bex Bailey: I was raped at a Labour Party event in 2011". BBC News. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  25. ^ Hughes, Laura; Newell, Claire (2 November 2017). "Exclusive: Labour MP suspended after alleged victim tells The Telegraph he sexually harassed her". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017.
  26. ^ Stewart, Heather (2 November 2017). "Labour suspends Kelvin Hopkins over allegations of sexual misconduct". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  27. ^ Wills, Ella (4 November 2017). "Kelvin Hopkins 'absolutely and categorically' denies allegations of inappropriate conduct". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  28. ^ "MP to submit 'unwanted attention' letters". BBC News. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  29. ^ Gillett, Francesca (10 November 2017). "Labour MP accuses suspended Kelvin Hopkins of 20 years of 'upsetting' unwanted behaviour". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Labour investigating claim that Clive Lewis groped woman at conference". The Independent. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Labour MP Clive Lewis denies groping claim". BBC News. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017.
  32. ^ "Labour clears MP Lewis of harassment". BBC News. 12 December 2017.
  33. ^ Abbit, Beth (4 November 2017). "MP denies he sexually harassed a teenager - but apologises for behaviour". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017.
  34. ^ "MP Ivan Lewis suspended by Labour". BBC News. 23 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017.
  35. ^ Syal, Rajeev (8 November 2017). "Corbyn aide David Prescott suspended over harassment claims". Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.
  36. ^ "EXCL Jeremy Corbyn aide David Prescott returns to work after having suspension lifted". PoliticsHome.com. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  37. ^ Collingridge, John; Shipman, Tim; Pogrund, Gabriel (26 November 2017). "Labour hushes up second 'suicide' after sex claims". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 26 November 2017. (subscription required)
  38. ^ Elgot, Jessica (26 November 2017). "Labour staff member dies suddenly amid inquiry – reports". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  39. ^ Stewart, Heather (7 November 2017). "Labour urges May to treat sexual harassment consistently across parties". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017.
  40. ^ Harley, Nicola (4 November 2017). "Scottish childcare minister Mark McDonald resigns over 'inappropriate' behaviour". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017.
  41. ^ Andrews, Kieran (5 November 2017). "Parliamentary sexual harassment scandal moves north to Holyrood". Sunday Post. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  42. ^ "Nationalist MSP Willie Coffey 'does not recognise' inappropriate language complaint". 5 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  43. ^ Johnson, Simon (5 November 2017). "Labour MSP Monica Lennon accuses senior party figure of sexual assault as SNP minister resigns". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  44. ^ "Ex-SNP leader Alex Salmond resigns from party". BBC News. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  45. ^ "Alex Salmond charged with attempted rape". 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  46. ^ "Alex Salmond cleared of all sexual assault charges". BBC News. 23 March 2020.
  47. ^ "Minister removed over conduct claims". BBC News. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017.
  48. ^ "Carl Sargeant removed from Welsh Government after allegations". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  49. ^ "Sacked Labour minister found dead". BBC News. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017.
  50. ^ Rawlinson, Kevin; Morris, Steven; Halliday, Josh (9 November 2017). "Carl Sargeant lauded as Welsh first minister prepares statement". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.