25 October 2023 , 10:17
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An ex-Tory MP's behaviour left a former parliamentary aide a "broken shell" after the "physical, emotional, psychological abuse" he endured, it has been claimed.
Peter Bone, who was stripped of the Tory whip last week, was found by a report to have bullied a former aide and exposed his private parts in a hotel room. Parliament's Independent Expert (IEP) Panel claimed: "This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure.”
MPs will on Wednesday vote on whether to approve a recommended six-week Commons suspension for Mr Bone - paving the way for another crunch by-election in his Wellingborough seat.
Speaking to BBC News, the alleged complainant, who remains anonymous, detailed what he claimed to be the "physical, emotional, psychological abuse" he had suffered. He said: "It unfortunately became this horrid, brutal, dark experience that left me a broken shell of the young man I once was".
He added: "Peter's behaviour was erratic. His temper was often explosive. "Like a pendulum he would go from one type of kind of personality to another. It was very hard to predict, and that kind of left me feeling quite under siege. "They call it a siege mentality in terms of the relentless shouting, the screaming, the hitting."
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The former aide, who said the experience led to him being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, also criticised the Tories handling of his complaint, claiming he was "effectively ghosted" by the party. He also claimed he was "never given a clear timeline of events or even an estimated one" regarding his complaint to the Conservatives. He said he was left "in this kind of limbo" and "effectively ghosted for three years by the party."
A Conservative spokesperson told the broadcaster that the case had been investigated under the party's previous code of conduct and complaints process. The party said that the alleged complainant had withdrawn from the process before the case was heard. "Under the current process, the complainant's case would have been referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme as it is a workplace matter, not a party matter," the spokesperson told the BBC.
Parliament's Independent Expert (IEP) Panel said in its report last week Mr Bone "committed many varied act of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct" against a member of his staff in 2012 and 2013.
One allegation centred on physical abuse. The claim said Mr Bone “struck the complainant repeatedly, on the back of the head, back, arms and shoulders”. It went on: “He used his hand (front and back) and sometimes an object such as a pencil or rolled-up document.
“For example, on January 14, 2013, the respondent struck the complainant across the back of the head and said, ‘because you’re having a thick day and I thought that would help’. “The (MP) would tell colleagues that the complainant is ‘having a thick day, we should hit him’. “Some hits were hard, some just taps. “The respondent also repeatedly threw things at the complainant, including pens, pencils and office equipment.”
In a damning ruling, Commissioner found that:
- Mr Bone “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” the complainant, and this was bullying.
- Mr Bone “repeatedly physically struck and threw things at” the complainant, and this was bullying.
- Mr Bone “imposed an unwanted and humiliating ritual on” the complainant, namely instructing, or physically forcing, the complainant to put his hands in his lap when Mr Bone was unhappy with him or his work; and this was bullying.
- Mr Bone “repeatedly pressurised [the complainant] to give him a massage in the office” and this was bullying, but not sexual misconduct.
- Mr Bone indecently exposed himself to the complainant on an overseas trip, initially in the bathroom of the hotel room they were sharing and then in the bedroom. The Commissioner concluded this was sexual misconduct.
In his response to the IEP's findings, Mr Bone said last week: "As I have maintained throughout these proceedings, none of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place.
"They are false and untrue claims. They are without foundation."