Tory aides have compiled a list of three dozen Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate behaviour including being “handsy at parties”, it has been claimed. The list, contained in a spreadsheet, reportedly names 20 ministers among those at whom the claims are levelled. The allegations, published in a redacted form by the Guido Fawkes blog, came as Theresa May vowed to crack down on alleged impropriety in Westminster. The Conservative Party declined to comment.
Ms May has written to Commons Speaker John Bercow to say that the current system for dealing with allegations of sexual harassment lacks “the required teeth” as there was no contractual requirement for MPs to follow it. “I do not believe that this situation can be tolerated any longer. It is simply not fair on staff, many of whom are young and in their first job post-education,” she added. A list of 13 MPs accused of impropriety had reportedly already been circulating in Westminster.
Over the weekend the Prime Minister ordered a Cabinet Office inquiry into whether International Trade Minister Mark Garnier had breached the ministerial code over claims he asked his Commons secretary to buy sex toys and called her “sugar tits”. Members of the Government are expected to uphold the “highest standards of propriety” under the ministerial code. The code opens by stating the “general principle” that “ministers of the Crown are expected to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety”. It then goes on to emphasise that the ultimate arbiter of their behaviour is the Prime Minister, giving her wide discretion to act.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/36-conservative-mps-spread…
