17 October 2023 , 08:35
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The Conservative Party failed to take swift action against an MP who exposed himself to an aide trapped in his hotel room, a report found.
Peter Bone faces a six-week Commons ban after a Parliament sleaze watchdog ruled he engaged in "a wilful pattern of bullying" against the staffer in 2012 and 2013, including "an unwanted incident of sexual misconduct" in a hotel room. The 49-page report details a January 2013 trip to Madrid with the Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking.
It said Mr Bone "tried to keep the beds together and once in the bathroom exposed his genitals close to the complainant's face". The aide had quit before the visit and was working his notice. The watchdog also found Mr Bone pressurised his researcher to give him massages and threw pencils at him.
In one incident, Mr Bone, 70, is alleged to have struck the aide on the back of his head and told him: "You're having a thick day and I thought that would help." The complainant said Mr Bone had "a sense of a king who expected people to serve him in all sorts of ways".
The watchdog said the victim's father complained about Mr Bone to then-PM David Cameron in December 2015. The victim complained to then PM Theresa May in 2017 under the party's code of conduct. But by October 2021 it was still not resolved so he turned to the parliamentary authorities - who found the Tory probe had "gone quiet".
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A Conservative spokesman said the matter "was investigated" but the complainant "withdrew from the process before the case was heard". Boris Johnson made Mr Bone Deputy Commons Leader in July 2022. The ex-PM did not respond to questions about whether he was aware of the allegations.
The report said Mr Bone would pressurise the aide to massage his neck and shoulders which he once "reluctantly agreed to". It said Mr Bone would ridicule him and shout and swear at him. The Independent Expert Panel recommended a six-week suspension, which could force a by-election in his seat of Wellingborough, Northants.
Mr Bone insisted: "None of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place. They are false and untrue." He became notorious for asking questions of PMs on behalf of his ex-wife, who he left for a married physiotherapist 20 years his junior.
Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to remove the whip from Mr Bone and "call on him to resign".