MPs and staff call for parliamentary authorities to urgently tackle abuse in Westminster
MPs and staff have called on parliamentary authorities to urgently tackle harassment and abuse in Westminster.
In the wake of a long-running Sky News investigation into bullying and sexual misconduct, pressure is mounting for an overhaul of employment practices.
Speaking in the third episode of The Open Secret Podcast, Jenny Symmons, who represents House of Commons staff for the GMB union and works for a Labour MP, said: “A solution to many of the problems that MP’s staff face in Parliament is to give us an independent overall employer and have our own independent HR service.”
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Calling on the House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to make sweeping reforms that would modernise parliament’s workplace, she added: “I think it’s absolutely crucial for parliament’s reputation.
“I think that trust in politicians has really degraded for various reasons over the past 10 or 20 years.
“So we need to show that parliament is following best practice as a workplace. It needs to be the most positive example to other employers around the country of how a workplace should run.”
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who has previously spoken to Sky News about her own experience of being subject to inappropriate behaviour, agreed that urgent change is needed.
She said: “I have a platform and a voice that I can use and I’m determined to use to give other people confidence to speak out.
“It takes a bit of bravery, but actually you know in your heart of hearts it’s the right thing to do to find that confidence, to call out things that you know shouldn’t be happening instead of shrugging it off or laughing it off.”
Commenting on the current systems that are in place to protect staff, she added: “It’s kind of a bygone era, isn’t it? And I think it would be much better if there was a far more transparent HR function.”
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes
This comes following a Sky News investigation that found evidence of sexual abuse by senior political figures and widespread bullying of staff.
Speaking anonymously, one former Conservative staff member described being sexually assaulted by an established political figure in the party, whilst a former Labour employee recounted how she had been forced to “scrub stains from the carpet” by a female MP.
Many others described being exploited and said their mental health had suffered, with all suggesting that the systems in place to protect them could be improved.
A parliamentary spokesperson said: “Bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct have absolutely no place in the House of Commons and we acknowledge that there is still work to be done to ensure that everyone is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
They added: “Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme was set up to enable anybody in the parliamentary community to report bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct in confidence.”
Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom, who was the driving force behind setting up the ICGS when she was the leader of the Commons, urged anyone being subjected to exploitation at work to use the scheme, but she conceded that the process often takes too long.
She said: “It’s taking far, far too long for people to get justice. And that is justice delayed, is justice denied, particularly if you’ve been sexually assaulted or if someone’s been seriously bullying you and it’s really affected your mental health.”
Others who spoke to Sky News for the investigation suggested that poor leadership had been to blame in recent years for scandals concerning MPs’ behaviour.
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Alleged Westminster assault victim speaks out
Former Conservative MP Margot James, who had senior roles under David Cameron and Theresa May, said: “It definitely got worse under Boris Johnson, without doubt, because people take their cue from the leader.
“And Boris Johnson had a record of the way he treated, treated and dealt with women, which is in the public domain, you don’t need me to comment on it, but I think it spilled over into taking the matter less seriously.”
Ms James had the whip removed over her opposition to a no deal Brexit.
Asked about the scandal surrounding Tory MP Chris Pincher, which eventually ended Mr Johnson’s premiership, former chief whip Lord Young told Sky News, he should never have been promoted by the prime minister in the first place.
“If I was chief whip, he wouldn’t have had a job in government,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: “We have an established code of conduct and complaints procedure where people can report complaints in confidence. We take any complaint seriously.
“If an allegation of criminal wrongdoing is raised, we would always advise the individual to contact the police.”
Sky News asked Mr Johnson for comment but he did not respond.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “We take accounts of bullying and harassment in the workplace like these very seriously and encourage anyone affected by such behaviour to report it.”
World
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high
At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.
The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.
Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.
Ten children were reportedly killed when Israel attacked near a clinic on Thursday. Pic: AP
The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.
Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.
“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.
The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.
It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.
The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
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In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.
The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.
The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.
Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.
The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.
“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.
“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”
Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.
Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.
Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.
“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.
The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.
It said three children and their mother were among the dead.
Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.
On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.
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Do Trump and Netanyahu really get along?
Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.
A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.
People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.
Read more:
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal ?
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Lack of food and water ‘lethal’ for Gaza children
Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.
A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.
However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.
Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.
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