HARRIET Harman, the former Labour cabinet minister, has hailed a “sea change opportunity” to deal with sexual harassment at Westminster and dismissed suggestions there was a witch hunt.
Harman, who is also a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, spoke out as Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, 74, warned against treating “unfounded” allegations as fact.
The comments came as a string of MPs denied claims of inappropriate conduct, some of which were detailed in a spreadsheet circulated on social media last week. Harman said: “There are a lot of men saying this has been blown out of all proportion.”
Theresa May will meet opposition party leaders tomorrow to discuss proposals to bring forward a new grievance system for Westminster staff and MPs. The Conservatives published a new code of conduct and a new complaints procedure last week.
Harman said: “We’re all tribal beasts, that’s why we’re there [in parliament] and that has dampened down any ability to speak out…I think that’s changed after this week.” She added that parliament had a “sea change opportunity” to address sexual harassment and support those who speak out.
She said: “If you point your finger at a powerful man, they won’t just sit there, they will fight back. So, there will be some backlash about this amongst the corridors [of Westminster].”
Gale took a swipe at the media yesterday and defended colleagues facing claims they sexually harassed women. “We are not treating them as allegations,” he said. “We are treating them as fact.”
He added: “In the context, there is no proof that I can see yet of any wrongdoing. There may be things that have been done, a hand on a knee. Fine, you know, 15 years ago that may have been acceptable where it’s not today.”
When Fallon quit the cabinet he said he was standing down because his behaviour had “fallen below the high standards required”. He apologised to radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer for an incident in 2002 when he put his hand on her knee, but sources close to the MP said he “fundamentally denied” claims he made a crude joke to Commons leader Andrea Leadsom.
On Friday, Charlie Elphicke, a former party whip who has been the Conservative MP for Dover since 2010, was suspended by the party after “serious allegations” were referred to the police. He denied any knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing.
Three Labour MPs also denied wrongdoing last week. Clive Lewis denied a claim he groped a woman at the Labour conference in September. Former Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis denied he had made non-consensual sexual advances toward women. Suspended Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins denied allegations of inappropriate conduct made by activist Ava Etemadzadeh, which the party is investigating.
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