One of Keir Starmer’s shadow ministers has had the Labour party whip suspended after a complaint about his conduct.
Bambos Charalambous, a shadow Foreign Office minister and MP for Enfield Southgate, is under investigation after a complaint was made against him.
It is understood there was a formal complaint to Labour’s independent complaints process. As a result, Charalambous is administratively suspended from the Labour party; this also means the whip is suspended in the House of Commons.
He has stood down from his frontbench role on the shadow foreign affairs team.
Charalambous said: “I am aware that there is an allegation that requires investigation by the Labour party. It is right and proper that process is allowed to take place. I will cooperate fully and play my full part. It is not appropriate to say anything further at this time.”
Labour is not commenting on the suspension of the whip or the investigation.
Under party rules, once an MP has been administratively suspended and is under investigation, they have the party whip suspended as an automatic precaution.
Charalambous, a former solicitor, was first elected in his north London constituency in 2017. He has held several posts on Starmer’s frontbench, including shadow minister for crime and then immigration, before being appointed shadow minister for the Middle East and north Africa two years ago.
Labour’s new complaints process, signed off at the party conference last autumn, covers all protected characteristics, including race, disability and sexuality, and all forms of discrimination.
It has come under fresh scrutiny as insiders have expressed fears that their reputation and future within the party would be at risk if they were to report certain individuals.
Last week the long-serving MP Geraint Davies lost the Labour whip after allegations of sexual harassment, reported by the news website Politico, surfaced from five women stretching back over several years. Since the story emerged, Labour has received two formal complaints about his conduct.
The party described the claims against Davies of “completely unacceptable behaviour” as “incredibly serious”.
Davies, 63, told the website he did not “recognise” the allegations, adding: “If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry.”
Labour officials have acknowledged the “genuine concerns” of female colleagues, and have issued a “cast-iron commitment” to take any action necessary that will restore faith in the party’s processes.
Last month Labour staffers and MPs expressed grave concern following reports the party had taken three years to investigate an allegation of sexual harassment made by a woman against a senior aide. The man, 20 years the complainant’s senior, was allowed to continue advising a Labour frontbencher even though the complaint was upheld. He has since resigned from his role.
On Monday MPs are set to debate plans on whether parliamentarians who have been accused of sexual or violent offences should be barred from Westminster. Under the plans, MPs and peers who have been reported to the police would be subject to a risk assessment carried out by a panel of officials, before a separate panel of politicians decides whether the member should be barred.
