The Tories were accused of “protecting their own” today over plans to exempt a shamed MP from a crackdown on sexual harassers in Parliament.
Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg finally announced he’d close a loophole that stopped Rob Roberts facing a by-election in marginal Delyn.
But it would have only closed the loophole in future - not retrospectively.
That meant it would not have applied to Mr Roberts, who was suspended for six weeks and lost the Tory whip for “sexual misconduct” to a staff member.
Labour today put forward an amendment that would apply the rules retrospectively. But Commons procedure meant the motion then had to be abandoned entirely for the day.
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Shadow Leader of the Commons Thangam Debbonaire claimed it was “one rule for them and another for everyone else”.
She added: “The Government is quietly bringing a motion that would close the recall loophole but wouldn't apply retrospectively.
“Not to extend it to cover a member who has recently been sanctioned for sexual harassment of staff is not right. His constituents should be able to decide if he is the right person to represent them.”
Ms Debbonaire demanded time in Parliament before the summer holidays that would allow a motion to be debated properly in the House of Commons, not just nodded through or rejected.
A new-style Independent Expert Panel ruled Mr Roberts had breached Parliament’s sexual misconduct policy and had abused his position.
But a loophole in Commons rules meant he did not face an automatic “recall” vote, which would have allowed his constituents to trigger a by-election.
That is despite the fact recall would have been triggered if the Commons Standards Committee had recommended the same punishment.
Mr Rees-Mogg was plotting next steps this afternoon amid furious recriminations about who was to blame.
His allies pointed out the proposal was from the cross-party House of Commons Commission, and the head of the Independent Expert Panel had warned against making the change retrospective.
Panel chair Stephen Irwin said making it retrospective would “impinge on the independence of the IEP” because it would be “a political decision affecting the sanction in an individual case.”
A parliamentary source fumed: “The amendment [by Labour] deliberately ignored the views of the Panel itself, gumming up a sensible solution agreed by the Commission.”
Mr Roberts has lost the Tory whip but is still attending Parliament in person, voting with Tories and shares his constituency office with the local Conservative Association. The party also kept his membership under review.
Leader of the Women’s Equality Party Mandu Reid said she was “delighted” changes were planned, but added: “It’s hugely disappointing to see that in the same breath our Government is still protecting their own.
“By allowing Rob Roberts to remain in office they are enabling him to collect a salary from the tax payer, continue to employ Parliamentary staffers and have access to potentially vulnerable constituents - all to avoid a difficult by-election.
“It sends a very clear message about the government’s priorities - they are willing to protect known harasser Rob Roberts simply because it serves their political interests.”
The staff member in the case claimed they were subjected to "persistent sexual harassment" by Mr Roberts.
In the IEP's report, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards rejected Mr Roberts' claims that his advances had been "romantic".
Instead, she said "a person's actions can be considered sexual harassment even if the alleged harasser did not intend them to be. And as such, [Mr Roberts'] conduct could reasonably be viewed as a series of sexual advances."
After the ruling, Mr Roberts apologised, saying the “breach of trust” was “completely improper and should not have happened.”
He had denied claims he made “repeated and unwanted sexual advances” to a staff member.
However, he admitted: “I asked a male member of Parliamentary staff to dinner in the hope of striking up a personal relationship. I recognise that this breach of trust in the MP-staff relationship was completely improper and should not have happened.”
Mr Roberts was contacted for comment this morning by the Mirror.
