Former Ed Miliband aide accused of sexual advances on colleague
2 min read
A former member of Ed Miliband’s top team has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances on a colleague.
The previous Labour leader is the latest high profile figure to become embroiled in the Westminster sex abuse scandal, after a former staff member made fresh harassment allegations against a former colleague yesterday.
The woman, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s PM under the pseudonym Susan, said a colleague had asked her into an empty room, asked if she could keep a secret and then tried to kiss her.
She told the programme: “I thought, ‘Oh God, I’m going to be fired’. I thought he was going to be angry that I rebuffed his advance and there might be consequences for me.
“I thought the best thing to protect my position was not to say anything.”
The woman said she didn’t speak out at the time as she feared “they would close ranks on me as my position was very junior.”
In a statement, Mr Miliband said that he was “deeply concerned to hear about this allegation of totally unacceptable behaviour.
“I would strongly encourage the individual concerned to use the complaints process of the Labour Party to take her allegation forward. She should receive the support she has a right to expect.”
This follows the claim from Labour activist Bex Bailey that she was raped by a party official, but was encouraged not to report the incident because it could harm her career.
Speaking on the same programme last week, she said: "I told a senior member staff who told me – it was suggested to me that I not report it.
“I was told that if I did it might damage me and that might be their genuine view. It might be that that was the case, in which case that shows that we have a serious problem in politics."
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