Westminster needs an independent support team to deal with allegations of sexual harassment or abuse against people working in Parliament, a Cabinet minister has said.
Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom made a statement to MPs as Prime Minister Theresa May sat at her side during an urgent question tabled in Parliament on Monday.
Ms Leadsom said the current grievance procedure was "inadequate" and pledged to back a "house-wide mediation service" and confidential hotline which would see a support team set up to deal with harassment allegations.
The support would provide pastoral support and pass serious allegations onto the police, Ms Leadsom said. She added Parliament should take action in "days, not weeks".
The Commons leader also announced the Cabinet Office is "urgently investigating" reports of misconduct against the ministerial code.
Commons Speaker John Bercow described the "culture of sexual harassment at Westminster" as "disturbing".
Downing Street and the Commons has been under growing pressure to act in the wake of the scandal as an increasing number of sexual harassment allegations were lodged against high-profile Westminster politicians.
On Monday, the scandal took a new turn after a spreadsheet was published listing 36 Tory MPs who had allegedly behaved inappropriately towards women.
Among the shocking claims of sexual misconduct was one minister accused of being “handsy with women” and another who is “perpetually intoxicated and very inappropriate with women”.
The dossier, revealed by political website Guido Fawkes, is thought to have been leaked by Conservative secretaries and researchers.
Read More
It comes after international trade minister Mark Garnier reportedly admitted he had sent his secretary to buy sex toys and called her “sugar t***” – but denied the behaviour constituted sexual harassment.
The junior minister described the two incidents – which are now being looked into by an internal government inquiry - as “good humoured high jinks” and “amusing conversation”
The Prime Minister had already wrote to Commons speaker John Bercow calling for a shake-up of the current disciplinary procedures in Westminster, which she said “lacks teeth”.
Mrs May said she was backing a new mediation service for grievances and a contractually binding complaints procedure for MPs’ staff.
The Standard revealed on Monday that senior Tory MPs blocked an attempt by David Cameron to create a binding code of conduct that would have included a right for staff to seek arbitration.
Currently, people who work for MPs are employed by the individual themselves and thus not covered by the procedures for other Parliamentary workers.
