Former Parliament officials accuse authorities of 'stitch-up' over John Bercow bullying row
2 min read
Former aides to John Bercow have accused Parliament’s authorities of an “establishment stitch-up” over the failure to act on bullying claims made against the Speaker.
The one-time Black Rod David Leakey and ex-private secretary Angus Sinclair have said new procedures to investigate grievance claims by former staff had come "too late".
The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme to probe allegations dating back to before 2017 opened last week – more than a year after Dame Laura Cox’s report, which warned of “deference and silence” being used to cover up misconduct around Parliament.
Mr Bercow is due to leave the post on Thursday after more than a decade in the Commons chair.
Mr Sinclair, who spoke out on BBC Newsnight about alleged bullying by Mr Bercow last year, told the Sunday Telegraph that the “horse has long bolted” around investigating the Speaker.
He said: "I think we've lost the moment. The horse has long bolted. I said what I said for various reasons on BBC’s Newsnight and I utterly stand by them…"
"What completely mystified me was that Parliament was criticised in an independent report and it hasn't acted.
He told the BBC in 2018 Mr Bercow mimicked him and he was prone to “over-the-top anger”.
The former naval officer added: “As yet the House of Commons is not a safe place. The last year has shown me that when [the Commons] feels it’s got more important things to do, that sort of thing [bullying] doesn’t matter.”
Mr Leakey also spoke out against the Speaker last year, accusing him of having “banged the table, yelled and was highly insulting to me personally”, in an interview with the House magazine.
He told the Sunday Telegraph the Speaker should be denied a peerage.
“MPs have kicked this can down the road for so long that it is no wonder public confidence in politicians is so low,” he added.
“The icing on the cake of an Establishment stitch-up in the public perception would be for Mr Bercow to be given a peerage. It would be a scandal that Parliament would struggle to live down.”
A spokesman for Mr Bercow told the paper there was "no substance" to the allegations by either man and that he has always denied claims that he bullied staff.
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