The watchdog that investigates allegations of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct in Parliament is expected to have examined the conduct of around 15 MPs. Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) wrote to MPs giving an “exceptional” preliminary update given the scale of interest in Westminster sleaze.
The message this week noted that there were 15 cases started against MPs between July 2020 and June 2021, adding: “We are seeing a similar trend in disclosure so far this year.” The final figure will be published in the ICGS annual report in the coming months, but that alone does not detail how many parliamentarians have been complained about.
According to a Sunday Times report, three Cabinet ministers and two in the shadow cabinet are among 56 MPs to have been referred to the ICGS over about 70 separate complaints. The last ICGS annual report states that of the 45 cases started in the previous year 15 were against MPs.
But there may well have been a higher number of complaints that did not lead to cases, with 113 people contacting the ICGS helpline about their experiences. Some cases may carry over from previous years.
Resigning MP Neil Parish is expected to face an ICGS investigation for viewing pornography in the Commons after a complaint from at least one Tory colleague. The ICGS message to MPs read: “In the interests of transparency, I want to give as clear a picture as I can about current case rates, but I am doing this on an exceptional basis given the scale of speculation.
“I am not providing real-time data in order to protect individuals currently using the ICGS and we will not provide any further information outside our usual reporting mechanisms.”
The House of Commons declined to comment on the number of investigations.
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