Flasher Tory MP suspended after 'horrid, brutal, dark experience' of staffer
A shamed Tory MP who flashed an aide and left him feeling like a "broken shell" after a long campaign of alleged bullying has been suspended from the Commons.
Peter Bone was barred from Parliament for six weeks, a move that could potentially set up a crunch by-election in his Wellingborough constituency. A sleaze investigation last week found that Mr Bone had trapped the aide in a Madrid hotel room and exposed his private parts to him.
A watchdog also said he had repeatedly asked his researcher to give him massages and "repeatedly physically struck and threw things" at him. The man told the BBC he had endured "physical, emotional, psychological abuse" - which Mr Bone denied.
The former staffer said the experience, which dates back to 2012 and 2013, had led to him being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He said: "It unfortunately became this horrid, brutal, dark experience that left me a broken shell of the young man I once was.
"Peter's behaviour was erratic. His temper was often explosive. I described it as like a, 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... a kind of siege mentality in terms of the relentless shouting, the screaming, the hitting.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
"The physical, emotional, psychological abuse as well as what happened later was just constantly on my mind.
"It was relentless to be honest."
In one incident, Mr Bone 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”. And in an "unwanted and humiliating ritual", investigators found the staffer had been forced to sit with his hands in his lap when the MP was unhappy with his work.
The alleged victim accused the Conservative Party of having "effectively ghosted" him for three years after he first reported the incidents, with a complaint going to then-prime minister Theresa May in 2017. Parliament's Independent Expert (IEP) Panel claimed: "This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure.”
MPs took just seconds to approve a six week suspension, as recommended by Parliament's Independent Expert Panel. A recall petition will now be arranged, triggering a by-election if it is signed by 10% of voters in the Northamptonshire constituency. It could be another headache for Rishi Sunak, who is reeling after defeats in former Tory safe seats Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth last week.
Mr Bone said the allegations were "false and untrue" and "without foundation" last week, but he was kicked out of the Tory parliamentary party the next day. A statement from Tory HQ last night(WED) said: "This case was investigated by CCHQ under the Party's previous Code of Conduct and complaints process. However, the complainant withdrew from the process before the case was heard."
In his response to the IEP's findings, Mr Bone said: "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."
He said he is "discussing with lawyers what action could and should be taken". Any by-election would see Rishi Sunak's Conservatives battling to keep the Wellingborough seat Mr Bone has held since 2005.
Lucy Powell, Labour’s Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said: “Peter Bone should save his constituents the disruption of a recall petition and resign. The people of Wellingborough deserve an MP they can be proud of. The country deserves the change that only Labour can bring.”
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
