Top Tory admits flasher MP shouldn't have been out canvassing with minister
A top Tory has admitted an MP suspended over sex abuse and bullying allegations shouldn't have been canvassing with a Government minister.
Science Minister Michelle Donelan said Peter Bone should not be out "advertising and promoting the Conservative Party" if he is not a Conservative. Ms Donelan was grilled after the Mirror caught Mr Bone, who has lost the Tory whip, door-knocking with DWP minister Tom Pursglove on Saturday just after he was banned from the Commons.
Mr Bone, who is serving a six-week suspension over bullying and sexual misconduct claims, denies any wrongdoing. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under mounting pressure to take action against Mr Pursglove for joining his pal in drumming up support for the Tories.
Asked about the outing, Ms Donelan initially attempted to bypass scrutiny by saying she didn't know the "full details", adding: "It's my understanding that it was a local campaign Action Day for a local by-election. Obviously Tom, as the local MP (for Corby), would be there. Peter Bone also happened to attend."
Pressed whether Mr Bone should have been out with a Government minister, she said: "That’s a question you need to ask Tom." But GB News presenter Camilla Tominey insisted: "I'm asking you though, should Peter Bone have been there?" Ms Donelan said Mr Bone has had the Tory whip removed and has been suspended from Parliament, while adding that she was "not obviously in the area".
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Ms Tominey continued to ask Ms Donelan four more times - bringing the total to six - whether Mr Bone should have been out with Mr Pursglove. "Well, yes, but I wouldn't put it as simply as that," Ms Donelan said. "I'd say that, if you're not a Conservative, you shouldn't be advertising and promoting the Conservative Party and that seems like common sense to me."
Mr Pursglove, who has been an MP since 2015, is a former Vice Chair of the Conservative Party. He worked as a Home Office minister before being moved to the Department for Work and Pensions a year ago.
A parliamentary sleaze investigation found a fortnight ago that Mr Bone had trapped an aide in a Madrid hotel room in 2013 and exposed his private parts to him. A watchdog said he had repeatedly asked his researcher to give him massages and threw pens and other office equipment at him. 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”.
Tom Pursglove (left) campaigning with Peter Bone in Northamptonshire (Reach Commissioned)The Commons accepted the findings of the report on Wednesday evening and Mr Bone was handed his suspension, which could lead to him facing a by-election. But just days later, Mr Pursglove, 34, was pictured by the Mirror knocking doors alongside Mr Bone in his Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, constituency on Saturday morning ahead of a local council election. Mr Pursglove is the MP for the neighbouring seat.
The latest sleaze row comes after the Tories were rocked by the arrest of ex-minister Crispin Blunt on suspicion of rape and the use of controlled substances. The Reigate MP confirmed he had twice been interviewed by police, but says he is confident he won’t be charged.
Asked about 16 Tory MPs having lost the whip for a wide range of allegations, including sexual harassment and racism, Ms Donelan told Sky News' Trevor Phillips: "Obviously it's completely unacceptable to have any type of behaviour akin to this, not just in the House of Commons but across society, and we should, I very strongly believe, be setting the right example and the right tone for others to follow.
"But it's certainly not my experience of working in the House of Commons. This is completely unacceptable, but it is a very small minority of people and the vast majority of MPs, what they're focused on, is working really hard for their constituencies and delivering and that's the very reason why they entered politics in the first place."
Meanwhile Mr Sunak is still reeling from two heavy by-election defeats this month, with Labour storming to victory in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. The contest in Tamworth was triggered by the resignation of yet another disgraced Conservative MP, Chris Pincher, 54, who quit after losing an appeal against a suspension for drunkenly groping two men. The allegations against the former Deputy Chief Whip sparked the end of Boris Johnson ’s reign last year as questions about what he knew about the scandal triggered a wave of ministerial resignations.
Now another nightmare by-election for the Tories looms as Wellingborough residents choose whether to boot out Mr Bone, who currently has a 18,540 majority. If 10% of voters in the constituency sign a so-called recall petition by December 19, then a by-election is triggered.
Mr Bone's alleged victim said the experience had left him as a "broken shell". Speaking to the BBC, he said: "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. The physical, emotional, psychological abuse as well as what happened later was just constantly on my mind. It was relentless to be honest."
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In a statement after the IEP report, Mr Bone said: “None of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place.” No 10 and the Tory Party declined to comment. Mr Pursglove on Saturday refused to justify his decision to campaign with a shamed MP when confronted by the Mirror. Asked if he thought it was appropriate to be out canvassing with Mr Bone, he remained silent.
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