John Bercow Was A 'Serial Bully', Says Commons Watchdog

The former speaker hit back saying the investigation was a “travesty of justice” and described it as “amateurish”.
Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow
Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow
PA Images via Getty Images

John Bercow has been described as a “serial bully”, in a damning report by a Commons watchdog.

The former speaker of the House of Commons has been found guilty of bullying staff by the standards watchdog.

The ex-Tory MP will also be banned for life from holding a parliamentary pass for former members.

HuffPost UK understands that Bercow is now “administratively suspended” from the Labour Party, pending an investigation.

It comes after former Commons leader Dame Andrea Leadsom called on Sir Keir Starmer to expel Bercow. The former speaker defected to Labour last year.

The Independent Expert Panel reprimanded Bercow for breaching parliament’s bullying and harassment policy.

They also decided his conduct was so serious he should never be allowed a pass to the parliamentary estate and that if he were still an MP it would have “recommended expelling him from the house”.

Sir Stephen Irwin, who chaired the IEP sub-panel, said: “This was behaviour which had no place in any workplace. Members of staff in the house should not be expected to have to tolerate it as part of everyday life.”

Former speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
Former speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
Stefan Rousseau - PA Images via Getty Images

The panel backed a decision by parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone to uphold 21 allegations against Bercow from three complainants, all House staff at the time, relating to the period 2009 to 2014.

They included Lord Lisvane, the former Commons clerk, Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms.

They also rejected appeals by Bercow and accused him of an “abuse of power”.

Their report said: “The findings of the parliamentary commissioner for standards, which we have upheld, show that the respondent has been a serial bully.

“His evidence in the investigations, the findings of the commissioner, and his submissions to us, show also that the respondent has been a serial liar.”

Speaking after the report’s publication, Emms said she felt “supremely glad” to be vindicated, adding: “The impacts of the one and only genuinely horrible, undermining and consistently upsetting period of my career has spread into all areas of my life.”

It makes it even more unlikely Bercow, who spent a decade in the speaker’s chair, will ever be given a seat in the Lords.

He was the first speaker in 230 years not to be offered a peerage when he stood down in 2019. He was nominated by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn but the bid was blocked due to the bullying probe.

Former cabinet minister Leadsom added: “It is my view that Keir Starmer should expel Mr Bercow from the Labour Party.”

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, said bullying had “flourished unchallenged” under Bercow.

Bercow hit back saying the investigation was a “travesty of justice” and described it as “amateurish”.

In a statement, he said: “Parliament is supposed to be the highest court in the land. This inquiry, which lasted a ghastly 22 months at great cost to the taxpayer, has failed it dismally.

“At the end of it, the panel has simply said that I should be denied a parliamentary pass which I have never applied for and do not want. That is the absurdity of its position.”

Bercow said such a case would have been thrown out by any court in the land, describing it as a “vengeful vendetta”.

“It is a travesty of justice and brings shame on the House of Commons,” he added.

“To describe what I have experienced as a kangaroo court is grossly insulting to kangaroos.”

The claims were detailed in a report by a body set up to investigate potential misbehaviour by parliamentarians.

The independent expert panel system was formed to stop MPs being involved in judging the actions of their colleagues.

Downing Street said it hopes the findings will encourage others at Westminster who suffer harassment to come forward.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister has spoken before about the fact that there is no place for bullying or harassment in parliament, and MPs should always be held to the highest standards.

“We hope that today’s decision gives all those in Westminster the confidence to come forward and report their cases, and that they will be fairly heard.”

It comes after a Labour insider told The Telegraph Bercow was preparing the ground for a possible tilt at running to be Mayor of London.

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