Recent revelations of misconduct by MPs – mainly Tories – confirm there is something rotten in the culture at Westminster.
Unnamed Conservatives tried to smear deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner by falsely claiming she was crossing and uncrossing her legs to distract Boris Johnson.
Then Tory MP Neil Parish announced he would quit after admitting watching porn in the Commons.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has said she was once “pinned up against a wall” by a male colleague and subjected to “wandering hands” on numerous occasions.
A senior MP is also said to have licked the faces of male researchers in parliamentary bars.
Now, we learn the SNP’s newest MP, Anum Qaisar, was warned about which predatory males to avoid.
She recalled: “I’ve been taken aside by female MPs to warn me about some male MPs who say, ‘Actually, Anum, you’re probably better off staying away from X, Y and Z’.”
This is an appalling situation, particularly for female MPs and staff who are simply trying to do their jobs.
The drinking culture at Westminster is a menace and must be tackled if progress is to be made.
Complaints procedures must also be reviewed and political parties have to look at their own policies.
Tiny steps have been made in recent years in terms of creating a system that allows complainers to come forward.
Now, we must ensure giant leaps are made to ensure Westminster is a safe workplace for everyone.
Payback pitfalls
Community service is a non-custodial punishment that plays an important part in our criminal justice system.
Scotland locks up too many people and more offenders should be paying their debt to society outside of jail.
However, the flipside is offenders must carry out the tasks they have been ordered to undertake.
Figures show more than 650,000 hours of unpaid community service have not been carried out.
The unfinished work from Community Payback Orders (CPO) is equivalent to about 76 years.
CPOs are not just given to non-violent criminals, as in 2019-2020 eight criminals convicted of homicide were given an order.
Some of the unpaid work assigned to individuals, including making bird tables and building bee hotels, is also questionable.
Criminals must be made to do their community service, otherwise it is another blow for victims.
