AN unnamed UK Cabinet Minister and top No 10 aide have been accused of sexual misconduct.
The first anonymous female parliamentary worker, under the alias Emily, alleges she was sexually assaulted in her early 20s by someone who is now working in the PM’s cabinet.
Meanwhile, a second female parliamentary worker alleges that she was groped by a man working at Number 10 - and despite lodging multiple official complaints about his appointment, he remains in post.
This comes in the wake of the Chris Pincher scandal in July 2022, when it was revealed that interim PM Boris Johnson chose to appoint Pincher as deputy chief whip - despite having previous knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.
Speaking to Sky News’ “The Open Secret” podcast, the first woman, Emily said: “I was super drunk. He’s feeding me more wine and I’m already quite obviously tanked. And I didn’t know how, like, what the time lapse was. But after a while, I was like, ‘You know what? Would you mind if I just went to bed?’.
“So, I went to bed. But, obviously, he didn’t leave me alone. And then I woke up the next morning and I realised what had happened.”
She continued to state that she was in a state of shock, and although she didn’t immediately pursue action against the now Cabinet member, she disclosed the alleged incident to friends in the days following. In the next few years following, she also reported this to an MP she worked for, along with the police.
However, she stated, after police failed to offer reassurance until she filed a formal statement, she chose not to proceed with a formal complaint. She said: “I was too scared to kick-start that process and risk it spiralling out of control.”
The second woman, who alleged on the podcast that she was groped by a top Number 10 aide said that no action was taken when she raised the alleged incident with a number of people, and so she lodged a formal complaint to the Cabinet Office.
She said: “I just felt the responsibility to do it again, partly because the office he's going to be working in is full of women. And I just thought he'd do it again."
However, she stated that no action was taken and that the aide’s boss – who works closely with the interim PM – dismissed this as the man was “good looking and had women throwing themselves at him”.
A spokesperson for the House of Commons said in a statement to Sky News: "Bullying, harassment and sexual harassment have absolutely no place in parliament. The behaviour code makes clear the standards of behaviour expected of everyone in parliament - whether staff, members' staff, members of the House of Lords, MPs or visitors.
“Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) was set up to enable anybody in the parliamentary community to report bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct in confidence.
“We want to ensure that everyone working here feels able to report such instances. We know that at present there are still barriers to this happening - and that there is still work to be done to ensure that everyone is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve."
A Conservative spokesperson said to Sky News: "We have an established code of conduct and complaints procedure where people can report complaints in confidence. We take any complaint seriously. If an allegation of criminal wrongdoing is raised, we would always advise the individual to contact the police."
A UK government spokesperson said to Sky News: "We take allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and there are robust procedures in place to raise concerns. All ministerial appointments also follow established processes."
If you have been affected by sexual assault, Rape Crisis Scotland provides a free, confidential national rape crisis helpline at 08088 01 03 02 and email support for anyone affected by sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened.
