A long-serving MP has had the Labour whip suspended after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced from five women stretching back over several years.
Geraint Davies, who represents Swansea West in the House of Commons, is facing an investigation after the claims made by anonymous alleged victims to the Politico website.
No formal complaints have been made about Davies, due to those who were allegedly targeted being said to have a lack of confidence that they would be taken seriously.
Labour described the claims of “completely unacceptable behaviour” as “incredibly serious” and said it strongly encouraged anyone who wanted to make a formal complaint to come forward.
“Any complainant will have access to an independent support service who provide confidential and independent guidance and advice from external experts throughout the process,” a spokesperson for the party added.
Davies has been contacted for comment but is quoted by Politico as saying: “I don’t recognise the allegations suggested and do not know who has made them.
“None of them, as far as I know, has been lodged as complaints with the Labour party or parliament. If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry as it is important that we share an environment of mutual and equal respect for all.”
Davies has been an MP for decades, first in Croydon Central from 1997 to 2005, until he lost his seat, and then again in Swansea West since 2010.
While never having been a frontbencher, he is a longstanding member of the Commons Welsh affairs committee. He also became interim chair of the environment select committee after the Tory MP Neil Parish stepped down for watching pornography in parliament.
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said his party and its whips were “very alive” to the problem of harassment in Westminster.
“The key thing is that when something like this happens, a formal complaint must be made,” Kinnock told Times Radio.
“And I do genuinely believe that our whips and our party is very alive to this issue. People get suspended, they lose the whip, investigations take place. I think we need to make that happen as rapidly and effectively as possible and make sure that anyone who does feel that they have a complaint to make, that they know that they can do so in confidence, and that they will be treated with respect and confidentiality and action will be taken.”
Kinnock also emphasised that the abuse of power in politics was “completely and utterly unacceptable”, but voiced hopes that things had improved in recent years.
“I got elected to parliament in 2015. And we’ve of course had many, many very troubling stories since then, people in positions of power who abuse that position, and it’s completely and utterly unacceptable when that happens. I hope things may have improved a bit since the #MeToo movement.”
