I represented the two brave women who were Labour employees and asked by the party to sign non-disclosure agreements covering up their complaints that they had experienced sexual harassment during their employment (Ex-aides demand Labour retract media statements on sexual harassment case, 18 July). These NDAs would have prevented them taking legal action against their alleged harasser. One of them raised her experience in January 2020, and they both raised their experiences in March 2020. The party sat on its hands until autumn 2020. No substantive investigation took place and the NDAs were proposed in October 2020. As a matter of principle, both women resigned, rejecting the NDAs and the hush money that came with them.
It is unusual for a lawyer to write a letter of this kind to a newspaper, but there are high public interests in play when a political party makes an official statement denying that it proposed NDAs to cover up allegations of sexual harassment, and now adds insult to injury by claiming that it takes “any complaints of sexual harassment extremely seriously” and that these are “fully investigated”.
That is not my experience, nor the experience of these women. These statements, unless corrected, risk undermining these women’s credibility and covering up the appalling things that they believe happened to them. In light of Martin Forde QC’s damning report exposing serious problems of sexism and wider discrimination in Labour, it’s clear that the party cannot address this unacceptable culture while it continues to promote terminological inexactitudes about its handling of allegations of mistreatment of female employees, particularly where NDAs are contrary to Labour policy. Such matters are not susceptible to spin and dissembling – they are far too serious for that. The truth must be set free.
Mark Stephens
Partner, Howard Kennedy LLP
