The head of parliament’s complaints watchdog has said she “does not know” if the Palace of Westminster is a safe workplace for women.
Thea Walton joined the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme in March with a vow to build trust in the watchdog.
Established in 2018, the ICGS processes official HR complaints and also assesses complaints made on the parliamentary estate against a number of codes including the palace’s sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment policy.
Since the last general election, 24 MPs have faced at least a one-day suspension, according to Chris Bryant, the former chair of the House of Commons standards committee.
Bryant said this was because of those in power turning a blind eye to poor conduct, a temptation among politicians to protect their own, and hard-to-change behaviours and attitudes at Westminster.
When asked whether Westminster was a place women can feel safe, Walton told the House Magazine: “‘I don’t know’ is the honest answer. I wouldn’t say that nobody feels safe, but I have heard lots of things where women don’t from some of the engagement that I’ve done.
“I think all the time that there is a section of people that are saying they don’t feel safe, then people have to listen and do something about it.”
The number of MPs who have lost their party’s whip as a result of allegations of sexual harassment or assault has grown recently. The Labour party suspended Bambos Charalambous, MP for Enfield Southgate, after a complaint was made against him.
Senior Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of drugs and has been suspended by the Tory party. MPs and staffers have previously expressed concern that those already vulnerable after reporting serious incidents – and others shaken by reports of parliamentary sleaze scandals – are at risk from members under investigation but who are still free to roam the estate.
Upon taking up the role this year, Walton said she hoped to improve the timeliness of investigations, which had been “a priority” for her in the hope of improving the experience for all involved, but she acknowledged “there is clearly more to be done”.
The average time taken for a case to conclude is currently 184 working days. While the time taken has been reduced by 26 working days over the last year, according to the ICGS’ latest report, the lengthy process has been noted to worsen the complainants and respondents experience of the process.
Walton has cited a “lack of engagement” from both sides, “whether that be through genuine poor health or whether that be a deliberate thing from both sides is our biggest cause of delay”.
When reflecting on parliament’s drinking culture, Walton noted her surprise at how “relatively low” the number of sexual misconduct cases linked to drinking were, before adding, “but they are horrible”. She said she would like to implement rules to ensure “horror stories” and rumours that circulate the estate result in a full investigation.
Currently if the same person is mentioned to the ICGS five times for bullying, their case is escalated. However, Walton wants to “bring that down to three” as “five seems quite a high bar”.
Upon his suspension from Labour, 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.”
In a statement, Blunt said: “I remain ready to cooperate fully with the investigation that I am confident will end without charge.”
