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LONDON – As Westminster struggles to deal with a wave of abuse claims, the misconduct never stops with the ninth UK MP now under investigation.
Two senior backbenchers – Julian Knight, a Conservative and Labour Conor McGinn – was suspended by his side on Wednesday night.
Knight lost the whip after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan Police, a Conservative Party spokesman said, declining to comment on the nature of the allegation. Knight, who has chaired the influential Culture Select Committee since 2020, Tweeted that the decision was “wrong and unjustified” and claimed it was “subject to a campaign of rumor and slander.” He has “resigned” himself from parliament, and is expected to be replaced as committee chairman when the matter is investigated.
McGinn, who has held several roles on Labour’s front bench, said he had not been told the details of the allegation but “believes it is completely unfounded.”
The ongoing scandal adds to political pressure on Britain’s most recent prime minister, Rishi Sunak. On the campaign trail this summer, Sunak pledged to prioritize integrity but has since been forced to face a series of misconduct allegations against members of his own party. His own deputy PM, Dominic Raab, is currently under investigation following allegations of bullying, which he denies.
The spate of cases is also affecting morale within the party. A female Tory parliamentary candidate said: “We’re all increasingly annoyed that it keeps happening.” She added that “there are a lot of younger Tories – male and female – who feel a big loss [at the next election] Actually the party can be built in terms of getting rid of the dead wood, especially the more unpleasant elements.”
The latest suspension brings the total number of British MPs currently under investigation – by the police, party bosses or the Parliamentary Complaints Scheme – to nine, while seven more MPs continue to sit indefinitely as independents after being suspended from their parties.
Knight is the fourth Conservative to be kicked out of the party this year, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, who lost the whip after announcing his participation in the reality TV show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here”. “
Former Chief Whip Chris Pincher, who oversees party discipline, was suspended from the Conservative Party in the summer following allegations of sexual harassment and is under investigation, as is backbencher David Warburton. N The unnamed Conservative MP has been under arrest since May on suspicion of rape and other offences, but has retained the party whip.
Senior Tory MPs have warned that the current system is not dealing properly with MPs accused of sexual harassment or assault.
Andrea Leadsom, a former cabinet minister, said: “It is for female colleagues that a male colleague can be accused of these things, and it just goes into the ether.”
When she was Commons leader, Leadsom helped set up Parliament’s independent complaints system through which staff could report bullying and harassment.
She told POLITICO that the plan is failing because the original plan to set up an HR service with it was never fully implemented, meaning the grievance system is “logged” with lower-level workplace complaints, leaving victims to pursue more serious charges. Reluctant because it takes so long.
Protocols established by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which allow potential criminal behavior to be referred to the police, may never have been used, Leadsom suggested.
She said some female colleagues were “quite miserable” with the general state of political life and, in particular, the reluctance to deal with problems that damaged the reputation of all MPs.
The Conservative Party’s vice-chair, Rachel Maclean, insisted that the process for making complaints about MPs had improved in recent years. She told GB News that “we have made a lot of progress” and that it was important to maintain “due process and justice” in the ongoing allegations.
A spokesperson for the House of Commons said they did not accept the ICGS as “failed” and pointed out that there was an established HR support service for MPs’ staff.
They added that a range of services are available to staff, including a free and confidential helpline for advice on personal and work-related issues, and referral of complaints to other organisations, where appropriate..
Annabelle Dixon contributed reporting.
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