Following the findings and recommendations announced yesterday,
Tory MP Peter Bone has had his party membership revoked in response to allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct, according to a report published on October 17th. The report, conducted by the Independent Expert Panel (IEP), found that Mr. Bone had engaged in acts of bullying and sexual misconduct. As a result, he has lost the Conservative whip, which means he will now serve as an independent MP.
A spokesperson representing Chief Whip Simon Hart stated, “Following a report by the Independent Expert Panel (IEP), the Chief Whip has removed the Conservative whip from Peter Bone MP.”
The report from the IEP revealed that Mr. Bone had “trapped” a staff member in a room where he exposed himself, characterizing this behavior as a “deliberate and conscious abuse of power.” Additionally, the panel found that Mr. Bone had committed multiple acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct against the staff member in 2012 and 2013.
The recommended course of action is to suspend Mr. Bone from the House of Commons for six weeks, which may potentially lead to a by-election, creating a challenge for Rishi Sunak.
Mr. Bone has vehemently denied the allegations, asserting that they are “false and untrue” and have no basis in fact. He has pledged to continue representing his constituents.
The allegations against Mr. Bone were first made in October 2021 by a Westminster staffer, following an unresolved complaint made to former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017. The allegations included four instances of bullying, where Mr. Bone was accused of verbally belittling, ridiculing, abusing, and humiliating the employee. It was also alleged that he physically struck the employee and imposed humiliating rituals.
The complainant claimed that Mr. Bone pressured him to provide massages at the office and, during a work trip to Madrid with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking, indecently exposed himself in their shared hotel room. An investigation conducted by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner upheld the allegations of bullying and the sexual misconduct related to indecent exposure in Madrid. However, the demands for massages were classified as bullying rather than sexual misconduct.
Mr. Bone appealed the decision, but the IEP upheld the initial findings, describing his behavior as “a serious case of misconduct.”
The report concluded, “The bullying involved violence, shouting and swearing, mocking, belittling, and humiliating behaviour and ostracism. This willful 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.”
In response to the report, Mr. Bone insisted that the allegations against him were entirely false, emphasising that they lacked a factual basis and were not raised during the complainant’s employment. He cited the rules of the independent complaints scheme as preventing him from detailing his views on the inconsistencies and lack of evidence in the allegations.
The next step for Mr. Bone is to face a vote in the Commons regarding the recommended six-week suspension. If Members of Parliament support this punishment, it will trigger a recall petition, potentially leading to a by-election if 10% of eligible and registered voters sign it.
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