EXCL Bex Bailey targeted by trolls after criticising Labour over sexual harassment probe
2 min read
An activist who claims she was raped by a senior Labour official has been targeted by Twitter trolls after she accused the party of dragging its feet over a probe into her case.
Bex Bailey has been accused of lying about the attack, which is alleged to have happened at a Labour event in 2011, when she was aged 19.
When she went public over her ordeal nearly a year ago, Labour asked top QC Karon Monaghan to carry out a probe.
But Ms Bailey said she was angry that the outcome of the investigation remains under wraps nearly five months after it was delivered to Labour bosses.
She went public with her frustrations in a BBC interview on Monday, ahead of a crunch meeting of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee.
Ms Bailey said: "To be honest I don't know why the party is dragging its feet on this, I know that the NEC tomorrow can at least start the ball rolling, at least pass a rule change that would make it possible for an independent system to exist, as the report has recommended."
It has now emerged that she has been subjected to a wave of abuse after speaking out, with some accusing her of timing her complaints to damage Labour.
A friend of Bex Bailey’s told PoliticsHome: "This kind of attitude in our party is exactly why we need independent experts to look at these cases, instead of the party continuing to investigate itself and its friends.
"Comments like these just serve to prove Bex’s point that sexism and sexual harassment is rife in the Labour party. Victim-blaming and calling women trouble-makers is a way of trying to silence women’s voices. We won’t be silenced until the Labour party starts to take women’s safety seriously."
A Labour party spokesperson said: "The Labour party is committed to continually improving our procedures for dealing with sexual harassment complaints and we thank Bex Bailey for her work to improve these procedures and for her incredible bravery."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
