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Britain’s Conservative get together has confirmed it’s investigating stories {that a} male MP watched pornography on his cell phone whereas sitting within the Home of Commons chamber.
The allegations, first reported within the Mirror and Solar newspapers on Wednesday, had been mentioned throughout a gathering of Tory MPs on Tuesday during which feminine members shared their experiences of sexism inside the office.
Chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris, who attended the assembly, has referred the matter to the parliamentary Impartial Complaints and Grievance Scheme, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday night.
“Following allegations of inappropriate behaviour within the Home of Commons the chief whip has requested that this matter be referred to the ICGS,” a spokesperson for the whips workplace mentioned. “Upon the conclusion of any ICGS investigation, the chief whip will take applicable motion.”
The ICGS was established within the wake of a sexual harassment scandal that hit parliament in 2017. It investigates complaints regarding present and former members of the parliamentary group equivalent to staffers or MPs.
The revelations come amid rising concern about sexual misconduct in Westminster.
Earlier this week, the Sunday Occasions reported that three cupboard ministers and two shadow cupboard ministers had been referred to the ICGS for alleged sexual misconduct.
Unnamed Tory MPs in an article by the Mail on Sunday additionally claimed that deputy Labour chief Angela Rayner tried to distract Boris Johnson at prime minister’s questions within the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs, evaluating her to actress Sharon Stone within the movie Primary Intuition.
The report was broadly criticised by MPs from all political events and prompted speaker of the Home of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle to name for a gathering with the editor and political editor of the paper. The request was rejected.
Not less than 40 Tory MPs — together with former prime minister Theresa Might and the get together’s chair Oliver Dowden — attended the assembly during which the allegations concerning the porn-watching MP emerged, in accordance with the Mirror. Throughout the dialogue, feminine MPs voiced considerations that the tradition of sexism inside Westminster would deter ladies from standing for Parliament.
Downing Avenue mentioned it could be inappropriate to touch upon the claims relating to the MPs referred to the ICGS. “On this, we clearly take all such allegations extraordinarily critically however there’s an unbiased course of in place and it’s proper to not converse on its behalf,” mentioned the prime minister’s spokesperson.
Nevertheless, the federal government insisted that the Conservative get together has a zero tolerance method to harassment. “You’ll have heard the PM deal with this explicitly in Parliament immediately and over the previous few days,” the spokesperson added. “Saying there’s completely no place for such behaviour and this can’t be tolerated in any office.”
In prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Inexperienced Get together MP Caroline Lucas referred to as on Boris Johnson to substantiate whether or not sexual harassment might be thought of grounds for dismissal below the ministerial code.
Johnson mentioned in response: “In fact sexual harassment is insupportable and it’s fairly proper that members ought to now have a process by which they will convey that to the eye of the Home authorities and I feel that may be a good factor, and naturally it’s grounds for dismissal.”
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