Former Tory activist ‘ignored’ by Parliament over rape claim
3 min read
A former Conservative activist has claimed her complaints over of an alleged rape by an MP’s employee were ignored by parliamentary authorities.
"Amanda" told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that she asked the Commons clerk to raise concerns about the “toxic” culture with senior members of her party.
In her account, the woman whose real name has been changed, said despite having reported the incident to the police the following day, complaints to the Commons were “never followed up”.
Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom and then Chief Whip Gavin Williamson are both understood to have said they were unaware of the rape claims.
The broadcaster reported that Amanda had a conversation with the House of Commons clerk, David Natzler, and was prompted to tell Commons officials about the alleged rape because she felt the "heavy drinking and sex driven" culture within parliament had contributed to it.
She said: "I was raped by someone senior to me in the Conservative Party. It was violent. It wasn't in Westminster, it was in my own home.
"And it shouldn't have happened. I remember the attack, during the attack. I remember the room disappearing around me and thinking I was going to die.
"When he left the next day I was at the police station within an hour and I reported it."
She added: "I never received contact from either of them. The parliamentary authorities never followed it up with me either. I heard nothing."
She said the lack of action had made her feel "worthless and as if my experience wasn't important and that the experiences of others who had who had had similar things happen to them weren't important either.”
The BBC reported that the clerk refused to confirm who he spoke to about Amanda’s case, but insisted that her complaints were "informally reported onwards" and were "acted on".
In a statement, the clerk confirmed the conversation took place in August, adding: “This conversation arose as a result of an alleged rape in 2016 which had already been investigated by the police and for which criminal proceedings had been instigated.
“The allegation was mentioned but was not the focus of the discussion, as the incident had not taken place on the Parliamentary Estate, and the activist had not been employed on the Estate.
“There was no question of formally “referring” the allegations to other House authorities as there was already a criminal case underway."
He added: “In the course of a 25 minute conversation, the individual concerned gave the Clerk some helpful personal insights based on her view on aspects of the culture and attitudes within certain parts of the parliamentary community.
“These were informally reported onwards and are being acted upon in various ways.”
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