Senior Tory MP Peter Bone faces a six-week Commons suspension and potential by-election after an investigation by Parliament’s top behaviour panel found him guilty of “many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct” against a member of his own staff.
The complaint was made in October 2021, and an investigation began in September 2022.
Five allegations of bullying and one of sexual misconduct were upheld by the Commons Standards Commissioner and an appeal was dismissed by the Independent Expert Panel.
A sub-panel determined that Mr Bone be suspended for six weeks, a length of time that would allow his constituents to vote in a recall petition and potentially spark yet another by-election for Rishi Sunak.
According to today’s report, the Commissioner found against Mr Bone on six counts.
- He “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” the complainant, and this was bullying.
- He “repeatedly physically struck and threw things at” the complainant, and this was bullying.
- He “imposed an unwanted and humiliating ritual on” the complainant, namely instructing, or physically forcing, the complainant to put his hands in his lap when Mr Bone was unhappy with him or his work; and this was bullying.
- He “repeatedly pressurised [the complainant] to give him a massage in the office” and this was bullying, but not sexual misconduct.
- He indecently exposed himself to the complainant on an overseas trip, initially in the bathroom of the hotel room they were sharing and then in the bedroom. The Commissioner concluded this was sexual misconduct
- He ostracised the complainant following the events subject to Allegation 4.3, and this was bullying
Mr Bone appealed the ruling, however a sub-panel dismissed the appeal “as it did not raise any substantive grounds”.
The bullying and harassment in question dates back to 2012 and 2013, however took almost a decade for a complaint to be made to parliament’s anti-sleaze body.
The IEP says it is “unfortunate” that it took so long to investigate and adjudicate on, however “much of the delay was caused by the Conservative Party investigation taking so long, and coming to a temporary but lengthy halt of years in 2018”.
The panel concluded that this was a “serious case of misconduct”.
“This wilful pattern of bullying also included an unwanted incident of sexual misconduct, when the complainant was trapped in a room with the respondent in a hotel in Madrid, not knowing what was going to happen next.
“This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure.
“It was woven into a pattern of inappropriate behaviour which also included requests for massages of his shoulders and neck and instructions to put hands in laps, including forcibly putting the complainant’s hands in his lap.”
MPs will now vote on whether to uphold the long suspension recommendation by the IEP.
If agreed, Mr Bone’s constituents will be able to vote in a recall petition, as the suspension exceeds 10 sitting days.
If 10 percent of his constituents back the petition, it will spark yet another by-election headache for the Tories.
Mr Bone’s Wellingborough constituency currently has an 18,540 majority.
It was last won by Labour in 2001.
