NEWS STORY : Commons Suspension Recommended for Peter Bone MP
STORY
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) has recommended that Conservative MP Peter Bone be suspended from the House of Commons for six weeks over allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct against a Parliamentary staff member. The IEP found that Mr Bone had committed “many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct” against a member of his staff between 2012 and 2013. The press notice issued by the IEP stated:
“This is a serious case of misconduct. The bullying involved violence, shouting and swearing, mocking, belittling and humiliating behaviour, and ostracism. 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. This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure.”
Bone has strongly denied the allegations made against him, but the IEP found that the complainant’s evidence was “credible and reliable”. Given the severity of the allegations made against Bone, the suspension is serious enough to trigger the Recall of MPs Act 2015. This means that if 10% or more of the electorate in Bone’s constituency sign a recall petition within the defined six weeks period then his seat will be declared vacant and a by-election will be held.
The IEP’s report found that Bone had subjected the complainant to a “prolonged campaign of bullying and intimidation”. It also found that he had exposed himself to the complainant on one occasion, adding that Bone’s behaviour had “a devastating impact” on the complainant. Bone said that he was “deeply disappointed” with the report and said that he would be appealing the suspension.
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