Boris Johnson’s successor at Downing Street must end the “toxic culture” at Westminster with a new process for dealing with sexual misconduct claims, a union leader has said.
It comes as a cabinet minister and a senior No 10 aide face allegations of sexual assault and groping – sparking fresh concerns about whether complaints are taken seriously.
Mike Clancy, the head of the Prospect trade union representing civil servants, said he that he has spoken to the speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle over the claims reported by Sky News.
Calling on Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to “clean up” the problem, Mr Clancy said it was time for an overhaul in the procedure so staff were protected in same way as other organisations.
“There’s been a constant round of failures of leadership here, which has demonstrated a culture which needs to change,” he told Sky News.
The union leader added: “Now we have a new prime minister from Monday and this is an opportunity to reset the culture … I’m hoping that the new prime minister will be able to clean this up and deal with a toxic culture.”
Mr Clancy said he and other officials have had “a conversation with the speaker – I think he wants to make improvements in the way these things are dealt with”.
He said those accused of sexual harassment should be “kept away from the parliamentary estate or the workplace”, adding: “The most important thing for people to remember here is that people need to be safe and to be confident about going about their business.”
Mr Clancy added: “Sophisticated employers have processes and procedures to ensure that the rights of victims, [and] those [who] are the subject of complaints, are properly handled.”
A former Tory parliamentary staff member alleged sexual assault by a cabinet minister after he was “feeding her wine”, according to Sky News.
The first woman told the broadcaster: “I was sexually assaulted by someone who is now a cabinet minister. I was in my early 20s and didn’t really know how to deal with it.”
She told colleagues and the MP she was working for, who encouraged her to report her experience to the police. But the staffer chose not to make any formal complaint, saying she was “too scared to kickstart that process.”
Separately, another Tory staffer has claimed that she was groped by a senior aide at No 10 before he was appointed to his role in Downing Street.
The second woman said she was working at a Tory party event when she was groped by a man who is now a senior No 10 aide, adding: “I turned around and this guy was just looking right at me.”
She complained and raised it again when the man was due to get a senior job in Downing Street, but said “nothing happened”.
The woman also said that the aide’s boss, after hearing the allegation, dismissed it because the accused person was “good looking and had women throwing themselves at him”.
A government spokesperson, responding to the allegations about a cabinet minister assaulting a woman, said: “We take allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and there are robust procedures in place to raise concerns. All ministerial appointments also follow established processes.”
On allegations that a No 10 aide groped a different woman, the spokesperson said: “All prospective government employees are subject to necessary checks and vetting. We do not comment on individuals.”
Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake claimed on Friday that sexual harassment is not a “cultural” issue at Westminster – but said complaints should be properly investigated.
The Sunak backer told Sky News: “I don’t believe it’s cultural. But clearly in a cohort of 650 people you are going to see some poor behaviour and where that exists, and a complaint is made, it should be thoroughly investigated, and most people held to account.”
Sir John Redwood, the ex-minister tipped for a job in a Truss cabinet, told Times Radio: “I don’t think MPs have ever claimed that there are no problems with sexual misconduct – there have been some proven cases where MPs have behaved badly and have been rightly punished.”
Sir John suggested that current processes were adequate. “There have to be proper complaints procedures, as there are, which should be followed rigorously and soundly, to get to the bottom of the truth of allegations.”
