Politics

Peter Bone: Ex-Tory MP accused of sexual misconduct and bullying suspended from Commons for six weeks

Published

2 years ago

October 25, 2023

admin

Former Conservative minister Peter Bone has been suspended from the Commons for six weeks.

The MP has been accused of bullying and sexual misconduct by a former member of staff.

Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel found he had “trapped” them in a room and exposed himself – an action it called a “deliberate and conscious abuse of power”.

Other bullying incidents have been alleged between 2012 and 2013.

Mr Bone – who has had the Tory whip removed – continues to deny the allegations.

The 71-year-old’s suspension was approved by parliament, meaning he will face a recall petition in his constituency of Wellingborough.

If 10% of voters sign it, a by-election will be called for the seat – in what is yet another headache for Rishi Sunak.

Mr Bone was made deputy leader of the Commons in 2022 in the final days of Boris Johnson’s administration.

He has held the seat for the Conservatives since 2005 and retained it at the last general election with a majority of 18,540.

The Liberal Democrats also demanded an inquiry into what the former prime minister and other senior figures knew about the allegations Mr Bone faced at the time he was given the frontbench role.

Five allegations by a Westminster staffer were made in October 2021 after a complaint made to the-then prime minister Theresa May in 2017 went unresolved, the IEP said.

The complaints included four allegations of bullying, saying Mr Bone:

• “Verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” his employee
• “Repeatedly physically struck and threw things” at him, including hitting him with his hand or an object such as a pencil or a rolled-up document
• Imposed an “unwanted and humiliating ritual” on him by forcing him to sit with his hands in his lap when the MP was unhappy with his work
• Ostracised the complainant following an incident on a work trip to Madrid

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Politics

MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

Published

3 hours ago

July 3, 2025

admin

MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

An MP who was ousted from the Labour Party has announced she is setting up a new political party with Jeremy Corbyn.

Independent MP Zarah Sultana said she and the former Labour leader will co-lead the new party, which she did not provide a name for.

She said other independent MPs, campaigners and activists from across the country will join them, but did not name anyone.

Politics latest: Zarah Sultana’s stinging resignation letter

Ms Sultana also said she was “resigning” from the Labour Party after 14 years.

She was suspended as a Labour MP shortly after they came to power last summer for voting against the government maintaining the two-child benefit cap.

Several others from the left of the party, including Mr Corbyn, were also suspended for voting against the government, and also remained as independent MPs.

However, Ms Sultana was still a member of the Labour Party – until now.

Mr Corbyn has previously said the independent MPs who were suspended from Labour would “come together” to provide an “alternative.

The other four are: Iqbal Mohamed, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain.

Mr Corbyn and the other four independents have not said if they are part of the new party Ms Sultana announced.

In her announcement, Ms Sultana said she would vote to abolish the two-child benefit cap again and also voted against scrapping the winter fuel payment for most pensioners.

Ms Sultana also voted against the government’s welfare bill this week, which was heavily watered down as Sir Keir Starmer tried to prevent a major rebellion from his own MPs.

On Wednesday, Ms Sultana spoke passionately against Palestine Action being proscribed as a terror organisation – but MPs eventually voted for it to be.

She said to proscribe it is “a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth”.

Ms Sultana said they were founding the new party because “Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper – just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population”.

She called Reform leader Nigel Farage “a billionaire-backed grifter” leading the polls “because Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives.

The MP, who has spoken passionately about Gaza, added: “Across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.

“But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.

“We are not going to take this anymore.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “In just 12 months, this Labour government has boosted wages, delivered an extra four million NHS appointments, opened 750 free breakfast clubs, secured three trade deals and four interest rate cuts lowering mortgage payments for millions.

“Only Labour can deliver the change needed to renew Britain.”