3 months ago
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A long-serving MP has had the Labour whip suspended aft allegations of intersexual harassment surfaced from 5 women stretching backmost implicit respective years.
Geraint Davies, who represents Swansea West successful the House of Commons, is facing an probe aft the claims made by anonymous alleged victims to the Politico website.
No ceremonial complaints person been made astir Davies, owed to those who were allegedly targeted being said to person a deficiency of assurance that they would beryllium taken seriously.
Labour described the claims of “completely unacceptable behaviour” arsenic “incredibly serious” and said it powerfully encouraged anyone who wanted to marque a ceremonial ailment to travel forward.
“Any complainant volition person entree to an autarkic enactment work who supply confidential and autarkic guidance and proposal from outer experts passim the process,” a spokesperson for the enactment added.
Davies has been contacted for remark but is quoted by Politico arsenic saying: “I don’t recognise the allegations suggested and bash not cognize who has made them.
“None of them, arsenic acold arsenic I know, has been lodged arsenic complaints with the Labour enactment oregon parliament. If I person inadvertently caused offence to anyone, past I americium people atrocious arsenic it is important that we stock an situation of communal and adjacent respect for all.”
Davies has been an MP for decades, archetypal successful Croydon Central from 1997 to 2005, until helium mislaid his seat, and past again successful Swansea West since 2010.
While ne'er having been a frontbencher, helium is simply a longstanding subordinate of the Commons Welsh affairs committee. He besides became interim seat of the situation prime committee aft the Tory MP Neil Parish stepped down for watching pornography successful parliament.
Stephen Kinnock, the shadiness migration minister, said his enactment and its whips were “very alive” to the occupation of harassment successful Westminster.
“The cardinal happening is that erstwhile thing similar this happens, a ceremonial ailment indispensable beryllium made,” Kinnock told Times Radio.
“And I bash genuinely judge that our whips and our enactment is precise live to this issue. People get suspended, they suffer the whip, investigations instrumentality place. I deliberation we request to marque that hap arsenic rapidly and efficaciously arsenic imaginable and marque definite that anyone who does consciousness that they person a ailment to make, that they cognize that they tin bash truthful successful confidence, and that they volition beryllium treated with respect and confidentiality and enactment volition beryllium taken.”
Kinnock besides emphasised that the maltreatment of powerfulness successful authorities was “completely and utterly unacceptable”, but voiced hopes that things had improved successful caller years.
“I got elected to parliament successful 2015. And we’ve of people had many, galore precise troubling stories since then, radical successful positions of powerfulness who maltreatment that position, and it’s wholly and utterly unacceptable erstwhile that happens. I anticipation things whitethorn person improved a spot since the #MeToo movement.”
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