Government to face questions over Westminster harassment scandal
A senior Tory will update MPs on the Government's response to the scandal, amid growing claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Monday 30 October 2017 15:54, UK
The Government will update MPs later on its response to Westminster's growing sexual harassment scandal following a weekend of lurid allegations.
In response to an urgent question from Labour's Harriet Harman, Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom will outline how the Commons disciplinary procedures will be overhauled in the wake of claims of abuse and inappropriate behaviour.
It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May called on Speaker John Bercow to help her "ensure the reputation of Parliament is not damaged further".
The scandal broke when it was revealed female members of staff in Westminster about "sex pest" MPs in all parties.
In a weekend of revelations the Guido Fawkes website reported that Tory aides have compiled a , including 20 ministers, who are accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph said a list of 13 MPs facing harassment allegations has been circulating.
The PM sought to seize the agenda on the issue by calling for a binding code of conduct for MPs after International Trade Minister Mark Garnier
Mrs May's official spokesman has declined to say the PM has full confidence in Mr Garnier, saying he did not want ro pre-judge the outcome of the Cabinet Office's inquiry into the minister.
Claims that Mrs May received regular updates from Tory whips on a dossier of claims against her party's MPs were denied by the spokesman.
In a letter to Mr Bercow, Mrs May said the House of Commons "must now go further" than the 24/7 confidential hotline already in place for parliamentary staff.
She raised the prospect of a code of conduct with "legal standing" as well as "a contractually binding grievance procedure available for all MPs".
But Sophie Walker, leader of the Women's Equality Party, told Sky News that simply getting more people to come forward will not fix the problem.
She said action needed to be taken to "tackle the culture of bias" and "deep-rooted structural problems" at Westminster.
Labour's Lucy Powell said the PM was "too weak" to tackle the problem and in the case of Mr Garnier, "referring something off to the ministerial code is just not sufficient".
Katie Perrior, a former Downing Street director of communications, told Sky News it was down to all parties to tackle the problem, which "isn't just confined to the Conservatives".
The Scottish parliament at Holyrood has also been drawn into the scandal, with lawyer Aamer Anwar telling Sky News he has spoken to a number of women who allege harassment took place there.
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: "Sexual harassment is unacceptable and we take any allegation of sexual harassment in the workplace very seriously.
"The Parliament has robust procedures in place to investigate and deal with any reports of sexual harassment in the workplace. If any individuals were to witness or experience such behaviour we would encourage them to report it."