Parliament’s standards chief Daniel Greenberg demands tougher rules to guarantee ‘no tolerance’ of harassment by MPs and much faster decisions to improve faith in the system
- He said that public confidence in MPs would not rise without change to system
- Told BBC: ‘The public rightly expects Westminster to be a model workplace.’
Parliament’s standards watchdog has warned its complaints system needs a major overhaul to ensure complaints against MP are handled with ‘no tolerance’ and at a much faster speed.
Daniel Greenberg said that public confidence in MPs would not rise from its current low until Westminster becomes a safe working environment for all staff.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who took up the role in January, spoke out amid fury at the ‘predatory’ behaviour of some MPs.
Last week one male MP was accused of repeatedly asking a young female aide to ‘come sit on my lap’, while other MPs are also being investigated over other allegations of sexual misconduct.
And Tory former minister Caroline Nokes revealed she’s been subject to around 50 ‘creepy’ incidents in Westminster amid fresh scrutiny of parliamentary sleaze.
Mr Greenberg told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: ‘What we need to ensure is that the system makes it very clear; there is no tolerance for members who do not provide a safe working environment for their colleagues of all kind and there’s no misconduct of any kind.
‘The public rightly expects Westminster to be a model workplace.’
Daniel Greenberg said that public confidence in MPs would not rise from its current low until Westminster becomes a safe working environment for all staff.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who took up the role in January, spoke out amid fury at the ‘predatory’ behaviour of some MPs.
Ms Nokes, the Romsey and Southport North MP, who has been in Parliament since 2010, recalled last week how a member of the House of Lords ‘stroked my bare arm’.
She also claimed a Labour MP ‘patted me on the backside’, other MPs had ‘put their hands on my thigh’, and admitted she avoids getting into lifts with certain people.
The chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee, spoke about her own experience following a renewed bout of ‘Pestminster’ allegations.
She demanded Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attend the Commons when MPs consider a proposed eight-week suspension for Tamworth MP Chris Pincher, after he was found to have groped two men at a London club last year.
‘That would be a really strong signal that he’s not going to tolerate it,’ Ms Nokes told the BBC’s Newsnight show.
Last week Ellie Varley, who works for Tory minister Dehenna Davison, spoke out as she claimed fellow parliamentary staff ‘don’t have trust in the system’ for reporting issues.
The allegations are the latest in a series of ‘Pestminster’ sleaze claims against MPs and senior political figures.
Recalling an encounter with a male MP on the Parliamentary estate, she said: ‘He just kept saying just come sit on my lap. And I was like: “I’m fine, thank you. I don’t want to sit on your lap”.’
Ms Varley added the MP was so persistent she felt she had no choice, and reluctantly agreed to ‘get him off my case’.
The BBC reported the MP is one of a number to be suspended over separate allegations.
Mr Greenberg added: ‘ There’s work needed to be done in ensuring that cases are concluded fast – as fast as it is consistent with balancing the need to have a fair and rigorous investigation with delivering speedy justice.
‘If we are going to regain public trust in the way that we would like, it needs to be clear that we will carry on working until we have a safe workplace environment for everybody.
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