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A Labour MP was suspended from the party yesterday over claims of ‘completely unacceptable behaviour’ toward younger female colleagues over a number of years.
Geraint Davies, who has represented Swansea West since 2010, was accused of subjecting party staff and MPs to unwanted sexual attention, and boasting of bringing sex workers into Parliament.
Labour whips have been aware of concerns about the MP’s conduct for several years, according to the Politico news site, but received their first formal complaint only last night.
Labour staff and MPs who have worked with Mr Davies spoke anonymously yesterday about allegations of unwanted touching and sexual comments directed at younger women in the workplace.
Most of the incidents were said to have happened on the parliamentary estate itself over the last five years.
Swansea West MP Geraint Davies (pictured) was suspended from the Labour party over claims of ‘completely unacceptable behaviour’ toward younger female colleagues
Geraint Davies (right) pictured with Labour party leader Keir Starmer (right)
A former staffer was sent a string of sexually suggestive messages while a party activist was invited back to Mr Davies’ hotel room, it was reported.
He also allegedly touched two female Labour MPs inappropriately without their consent. Both raised their concerns with the whips but did not lodge formal complaints.
Last night a Labour MP and Labour peer claimed Mr Davies ‘boasted’ about bringing sex workers into Parliament for drinks, Sky News reported.
Responding to the claims, Mr Davies, who will now sit as an independent MP, said: ‘I don’t recognise the allegations suggested and do not know who has made them.
‘None of them, as far as I know, has been lodged as complaints with the Labour Party or Parliament
‘If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry as it is important that we share an environment of mutual and equal respect for all.’
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A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘These are incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour.
‘We would strongly urge anyone with a complaint to come forward so that allegations can be swiftly and fully investigated and action taken.
‘The party has ensured that there is a wide range of support available to complainants, to provide confidence and confidential guidance.’
The Labour MP (pictured) is accused of subjecting party staff and MPs to unwanted sexual attention, and boasting of bringing sex workers into Parliament
Labour whips have been aware of concerns about the MP’s conduct for several years, according to the Politico news site, but only received their first formal complaint last night
Last night Labour’s general secretary David Evans told staff that officials had launched a review of the party’s complaints system.
Tory former cabinet minister Simon Clarke said: ‘I make no comment about this case whatever – except that the very people who scream abuse at Conservative MPs every day will now be conspicuous by their silence.’
Four MPs have been forced to stand down since the last general election because of sexual misconduct, with a total of 15 parliamentarians now sitting as independents.
Alesha De-Freitas of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women’s rights and gender equality, said: ‘How many more stories of MPs under investigation for sexual harassment must we hear before something is done?’
In 2021, former Hartlepool Labour MP Mike Hill resigned after Parliament’s watchdog found he breached its rules in relation to his behaviour toward a woman in both his parliamentary office and his flat.
Neil Parish, the former Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton, sparked a by-election after admitting in April last year to watching pornography in the Commons.
Former City of Chester Labour MP Christian Matheson quit in October last year after a report by the watchdog upheld complaints of ‘serious sexual misconduct’.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
