08 August 2023 , 08:00
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A senior Labour MP has revealed how he has been groped by five colleagues during two decades in Parliament.
Former Foreign Office Minister Sir Chris Bryant, 51, who chairs the Commons Committee on Standards, told how five MPs had "felt my bottom uninvited". He also said there had been an incident where someone pushed him up against a wall and grabbed his crotch.
The man involved in that allegation is thought to have been one of the five who felt Sir Chris’ bottom. The veteran MP makes the allegations in his new book, Code of Conduct.
"Over the years five male MPs have felt my bottom uninvited," he wrote. "One of them, who was not out, did so repeatedly. Another who is still in the House and still does not accept that he is gay, pushed me against a wall and felt my crotch."
He has been the MP for Rhondda since 2001 (VICKIE FLORES/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Westminster sleaze buster Sir Chris has previously spoken of how he was "regularly touched up" by older MPs when he first entered Parliament. But he did not report the assaults because he did not want to become "part of the story".
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Speaking to LBC radio last year, the MP for Rhondda, South Wales, added: "I'm glad to say that some of the homophobia we saw back in those days has gone, but I think some of the racism and misogyny is certainly still around in Parliament, and things are said in Parliament which maybe in other places wouldn't be said. It's true that we're all pretty robust people, we've all got pretty thick hides, but nonetheless we're human beings too."
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