John Bercow accused of dismissing staff bullying complaint against MP
2 min read
John Bercow said he would not rely on the word of a "f***ing clerk" who accused an MP of bullying and harassment, the Speaker's former top official has claimed.
Lord Lisvane, clerk of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2014, said Mr Bercow had made it "impossible" for staff to seek redress if they were badly treated by MPs during his time as Speaker.
The accusation comes after Mr Bercow accused Lord Lisvane of failing in "his duty of care to all House staff" amid a bitter row over claims of bullying by the ex-Speaker himself.
Mr Bercow has so far been denied the customary peerage handed to former speakers by the Government, instead being nominated by Labour's Jeremy Corbyn.
He has meanwhile hit out that those who have accused him of bullying, and said Lord Lisvane "did not at any time" raise any of the concerns included in a formal bullying complaint lodged with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
But Lord Lisvane told The Times it was "ludicrous" to suggest he could have raised his concerns at the time because of Mr Bercow's behaviour and the structures in place for reporting complaints.
He said: "The problem was exemplified by a complaint against an MP for bullying and harassing a young female clerk, who sadly left the House of Commons Service shortly thereafter.
"Mr Bercow said he that he was not going to have the case proved 'on the word of any ****ing clerk'. It's not surprising that in such circumstances it was impossible to deal with bullying by MPs."
Mr Bercow told the paper: "Lord Lisvane's statement doesn't accord with my recollection...
"I was concerned to ensure that there was an independent process and Acas - the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service - was invited to attempt to resolve the matter. As I recall, Lord Lisvane was supportive of the approach."
The claim from Lord Lisvane comes amid an ongoing war of words between the former Commons Speaker and the ex-Black Rod David Leakey.
Mr Leakey, a former military commander, described Mr Bercow as "a Jekyll and Hyde character" who terrified those who worked under him.
On Wednesday, he said it would be a "scandal" if the former Speaker entered the House of Lords after being nominated for a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn.
But Mr Bercow described the accusations against him as "total and utter rubbish from start to finish" and claimed they had been motivated by a desire to block his peerage.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
