Geraint Davies has had the Labour whip suspended after allegations of sexual harassment were made by five women.
The MP for Swansea West has been told by his party that his behaviour was “completely unacceptable” and “incredibly serious” as he faces an investigation.
Mr Davies has not received any formal complaints but the five anonymous alleged victims said the MP had sexually harassed them over several years.
He told Politico, the website which published the allegations, that: “I don’t recognise the allegations suggested and do not know who has made them.”
Two anonymous Labour MPs have now told the BBC that they were warned about Mr Davies within weeks of starting in Westminster.
One said: “It was never sinister, just inappropriate. He'd make lewd comments or touch your arm when you were next to him in the voting lobby. It just made you feel uncomfortable.”
The other female MP added: “There is now a lot of talk amongst female MPs on how we change the culture in Westminster because enough is enough.”
The Standard has approached Mr Davies for further comment.
So who is he? Here are the key details.
Who is Geraint Davies?
Chester-born Mr Davies, 63, first became an MP in the Tony Blair-led Labour landslide of 1997 when he won the Croydon Central seat — which he lost in 2005.
He won Swansea West in 2010 and has been its MP since. While never a frontbencher, he has been a longstanding part of the Commons’ Welsh affairs committee.
Mr Davies is married to Vanessa Fry and studied mathematics then philosophy, politics and economics at Jesus College in Oxford.
What is Geraint Davies’s political history?
Since becoming an MP in 2010, Mr Davies has put forward a large number of private members’ bills — which allow backbenchers to introduce policy ideas. His ideas of banning conversion therapy and taking measures to limit sugar consumption eventually caught on and became policy.
However, in the 2004-05 parliamentary year, his expenses were the highest of any MP. The Telegraph found that, while MP for Croydon, he claimed for renovations to his central London flat — less than 12 miles from his constituency home. He claimed the expenses made him the hardest-working MP. "Somebody has got to do the most work. I am proud it was me," he said following the release of the article in 2009.
What is being alleged about Geraint Davies?
Labour has suspended Mr Davies following multiple claims of inappropriate behaviour towards junior colleagues.
Five women, including two female MPs, claimed he subjected them to unwanted sexual attention or made improper comments during incidents on the parliamentary estate, the Standard reported on Thursday.
The allegations were first reported in Politico.
One Labour Party activist told the news website, which spoke to 20 people who worked with Mr Davies in Parliament, that she was 19 when he had private chats with her outside work hours.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “These are incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour.”
Mr Davies will sit as an independent while an investigation takes place.
