London: UK’s prime minister, Theresa May, said sexual harassment among top politicians can’t be tolerated any longer as she battles to control the fallout from claims of inappropriate behaviour in Parliament.
May proposed a set of rules to protect staff of lawmakers and ordered an inquiry into Trade Minister Mark Garnier, who’s facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour. In an illustration of how deep the problem may go, more than three dozen Tory lawmakers, including senior cabinet ministers, were named on a list being circulated at Westminster detailing the allegations.
May is “deeply concerned at the recent media reports regarding the alleged mistreatment of staff by some members of parliament,” her spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London on Monday. “She’s clear that any unwanted sexual behaviour is completely unacceptable in any walk of life and she strongly believes that those who work in Parliament are treated properly and fairly as would be expected in any modern workplace.”
May is trying to seize the initiative to stop the furore over the claims of sexual harassment from destabilising her government. On Sunday, she wrote to the speaker of the House of Commons demanding a new disciplinary regime to deal with unwanted sexual or sexist behaviour by lawmakers toward aides and colleagues.
On Monday afternoon, Slack said, she’ll sit in alongside the leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, who will update lawmakers on the next steps in addressing the issue.
“I do not believe that this situation can be tolerated any longer,” May said in her letter to Speaker John Bercow, arguing that current rules aren’t adequate. “It is simply not fair on staff, many of whom are young and in their first job post-education.”
May proposed a cross-party mediation service and a new “contractually binding grievance procedure” for all lawmakers. “It is vital that the staff and the public have confidence in Parliament and resolving this employment irregularity on a cross-party basis can play an important role in this.”
Garnier admitted on Sunday that he’d asked an assistant to buy sex toys for him and speaking to her using a sexist term, according to the Mail newspaper. Slack confirmed the investigation into Garnier and said there were no investigations at present into anyone else.
He said no “dossier” of sexual misconduct by Tory lawmakers had been shared with May by party whips, the lawmakers responsible for internal discipline. The Telegraph newspaper reported Monday afternoon that May and others were warned about inappropriate behaviour back in March in an official report by the House of Commons Administration Committee.
The report said that parliamentary staff should have access to human resources support to report grievances, but that recommendation was not acted upon, according to the Telegraph.
