The former House of Commons speaker John Bercow has been found to be a "serial bully".
In total, 21 allegations from three people have been upheld against the former MP and an independent panel has said his conduct was so serious if he were still a MP it would have recommended expelling him and he should never be allowed a pass to the Parliamentary estate.
The independent expert panel (IEP), chaired by Sir Stephen Irwin found that the bullying and harassment policy was breached "repeatedly and extensively" by Mr Bercow when he was the "most senior Member of the House of Commons".
"In all, 21 separate allegations were proved and have been upheld. The House may feel that his conduct brought the high office of Speaker into disrepute. This was behaviour which had no place in any workplace. Members of staff in the House should not be expected to have to tolerate it as part of everyday life.”
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards upheld 21 allegations against Mr Bercow from three complainants, all House staff at the time, relating to 2009 to 2014. The complainants have agreed to being named in the report.
The IEP dismissed Mr Bercow’s appeals against those decisions, concluding in one case that: "The respondent [Mr Bercow] has been widely unreliable and repeatedly dishonest in his evidence. He has attempted to defeat these complaints by false accusations of collusion and by advancing lies.”
In its decision, it said: "The findings of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which we have upheld, show that the respondent has been a serial bully […]
"His evidence in the investigations, the findings of the Commissioner, and his submissions to us, show also that the respondent has been a serial liar. His behaviour fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect from any Member of Parliament.
"The respondent’s conduct was so serious that, had he still been a Member of Parliament, we would have determined that he should be expelled by resolution of the House. As it is, we recommend that he should never be permitted a pass to the Parliamentary estate.”
Mr Bercow was Member of Parliament for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019, and Speaker from June 2009 to November 2019.
There were three complainants. One was his former secretary Angus Sinclair, another his successor Katharine Emms and the third was Lord Lisvane, a senior official in the House of Commons who had to work closely with him.
Each of the three cases were investigated separately. Mr Bercow rejected all the allegations.
Mr Sinclair detailed expletive-laden outbursts from Mr Bercow and that he criticised him in front of visitors and was “very rude”.
In one incident Mr Bercow threw Mr Sinclair’s “mobile phone right in front of me on my desk and it burst into hundreds of bits and I could feel them hitting me. It was the most violent, extraordinary display of temper”.
Mr Sinclair told the investigator Mr Bercow had accused him of being homophobic. A witness said Mr Sinclair was “white as a sheet, shaken and shell shocked”.
After being told he wouldn’t be on a panel to choose a new chaplain, Mr Bercow said “you f**king fix it that I’m on that panel”.
A row then broke out when he selected his preferred candidate and a note from the time said Mr Bercow was “furious beyond the normal reaction” and physically it was shown with spittle and waving arms.
In Ms Emms’ complaint she details a trip to Kenya where he was told an item in his hand luggage could not be checked in and he was “irascible and disproportionately rude and threatening”. He then shunned her for the long flight.
On another occasion she said he was angry with her and looked “as if he wanted to rip my guts out”.
She tried to make peace after the meeting but he was “abusive and angry” and making a “really direct personal attack”.
In his evidence, Lord Lisvane made 18 complaints, of which 14 were upheld. Lord Lisvane said after a meeting the pair were left alone and Mr Bercow “launched into a personal and sneering attack on what the respondent called his lack of support for diversity”.
“He states he broke into a torrent of abuse, accusing him of being duplicitous, manipulative, of lying and of bullying the complainant’s staff”.
On another occasion two days later he launched into an “extended ‘diatribe’ about the complaint’s role as chief executive, that he was no good in the role and that he has lost confidence in him”.
On another Mr Bercow was “aggressive, critical of the performance of House staff” which Lord Lisvane thought was “aggressive, bullying behaviour”.
When he walked out, Mr Bercow followed and “repeated personal accusations of incompetence”.
On another, witnesses said “out of nowhere the respondent exploded in an absolute diatribe at the complainant personally”. “The respondent shouted at him in anger with a shower of non-stop insults and called him useless. Everyone else was frozen in shock”
After a meeting where it emerged BBC radio was to run a programme about bullying Mr Bercow went into “rant mode” which lasted 13 minutes.
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