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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
PA & Kaitlin Easton

Labour MP claims senior Tories 'physically manhandled' MP over fracking vote

Labour MP Chris Bryant has said cabinet ministers Therese Coffey and Jacob Rees-Mogg were among a group of senior Tories who were putting pressure on Conservative MPs to vote against the Labour motion on fracking.

Mr Bryant told Sky News that one MP, Alex Stafford, had been "physically manhandled" into the "no" lobby.

"There was a bunch of Conservative Members obviously completely uncertain whether they were allowed to vote with the Labour or against it," he said.

"There was a group including several cabinet ministers who were basically shouting at them. At least one member was physically pulled through the door into the voting lobby. That is completely out of order.

"I know that Therese Coffey was in the group. I know that Jacob Rees-Mogg was in the group and there were others as well. The group all moved forward with one member.

"It was Alex Stafford. He was to my mind physically manhandled into the lobby."

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Therese Coffey (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

MP Alex Stafford has since posted on Twitter saying he had a "frank and robust conversation" with Government ministers, following the claims he had been "physically manhandled".

Mr Stafford tweeted: "Lots of rumours flying around tonight. This vote was never about fracking but about Labour trying to destabilise the country, and take control of Parliament.

"I had a frank and robust conversation outside the voting lobbies confirming my opposition to fracking, with members of the Government, nothing more, reconfirming my position which I spoke about in the Chamber this evening."

Therese Coffey has also denied she "manhandled" Tory MPs to force them to support the Government in the fracking vote, according to sources close to the Deputy Prime Minister.

"Absolutely she was encouraging Con MPs into the government lobby but she didn't manhandle anyone," they told the PA news agency.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has also said he did not see any bullying when the fracking vote took place in Parliament

He said: "I didn't see any bullying. There were discussions going on, and there was a discussion about the vote that was taking place, and this was what normally goes on outside the division lobby.

"I heard one person swear and use an expletive... a Conservative when going into the division lobby, swear and say, sort of 'get on with it', but he wasn't saying it to an individual."

Mr Rees-Mogg added: "I didn't see any bullying and I saw nobody being manhandled."

Asked if he was confident he saw everything that happened, Mr Rees-Mogg said: "Nobody can claim they have seen everything, even Chris Bryant doesn't have omnisight if there is such a word."

The Labour motion that would have forced a vote on a bill to ban fracking was defeated in the Commons, 230 MPs voted in favour of the motion, while 326 were against it, a government majority of 96.

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