Downing Street refuses to say Theresa May has confidence in sex toy row minister Mark Garnier
2 min read
Pressure is mounting on a government minister accused of making his secretary buy sex toys after Downing Street refused to say Theresa May retains confidence in him.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said she was waiting for the outcome of a Cabinet Office probe into whether Mark Garnier had broken the ministerial code before passing judgement.
Mrs May ordered the investigation yesterday after the Mail on Sunday reported that the junior trade minister asked Caroline Edmondson to buy two sex toys in a shop in Soho while he waited outside.
The Conservative MP for Wyre Valley is also accused of calling Ms Edmondson - who no longer works for him - "sugar t**s" in front of several witnesses.
Mr Garnier told the Mail on Sunday: "I’m not going to deny it, because I’m not going to be dishonest. I’m going to have to take it on the chin. I hung around outside and she went into this shop. That was it."
He said the "sugar t**s" comment was a humorous reference to popular BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey. He added: "It absolutely does not constitute harassment."
At a briefing for journalists this morning, the Prime Minister's spokesman was asked if she still had "full confidence" in her minister.
He said: "There is an investigation which the Prime Minister has asked for. I can't pre-empt that.
"As soon as the Prime Minister was aware of these allegations, she asked for the review to take place. Let's wait for the review to do its work."
It has been reported that a list of 36 names has been drawn up by Conservative aides of MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Mrs May's spokesman refused to be drawn on whether she was confident that no other ministers - including members of the Cabinet - were on the list.
He added: "The Prime Minister has been clear that this type of behaviour would be inappropriate if proven and that appropriate action should be taken."
Meanwhile, Commons leader Andrea Leadsom will update MPs on the brewing scandal in the wake of Mrs May's letter to Speaker John Bercow calling for tougher measures to protect parliamentary staff from abuse.
She said the current disciplinary procedure from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority "does not have the required teeth" because MPs are not obliged to follow it.
"I do not believe that the situation can be tolerated any longer. It is simply not fair on staff, many of whom are young and in their first job post-education," Mrs May said.
She is calling for a "House-wide meditation service" backed up by a "contractually binding grievance procedure", with the new system put together on a cross-party basis.
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