Labour MP says opposition frontbencher nonetheless in publish regardless of being reported to police for alleged sexual assault

A Labour MP has claimed certainly one of her colleagues who was reported to the police for alleged sexual assault continues to be on the opposition frontbench as a result of the get together “has chosen not to act”.

Charlotte Nichols, who represents Warrington North, didn’t identify the person however mentioned she has challenged Labour officers in regards to the claims and “their response has been utterly inadequate”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Four within the wake of the Geraint Davies scandal, Ms Nichols additionally revealed that inside her first week of being elected to parliament in 2019 she was given a “verbal list” of round 30 MPs she ought to “steer clear of” resulting from their inappropriate behaviour.

Politics live: ‘Plenty of politics at play’ in Johnson WhatsApp row

She mentioned there’s a “deeply rotten culture” inside Westminster in relation to sexual harassment and “none of the systems we have in place are effective”.

Giving an instance, Ms Nichols mentioned: “One of our colleagues who has been reported to police for assault who still has the party whip is still on the frontbench, but the party has chosen not to act.”

Ms Nichols additionally mentioned: “I’m conscious of circumstances the place folks have been sexually assaulted, they’ve gone to the ICGS (parliament’s unbiased complains and grievance scheme) and have been instructed that they cannot act as a result of it did not occur on the parliamentary property.

“They’ve then gone to the party who took seven months to tell them they weren’t going to be investigating it and were effectively left with the option of going to the police… and that is in a context where we know conviction rate is 1.6%.”

Last month, it was reported by Tortoise Media {that a} feminine Labour MP claimed she had been sexually assaulted by a male shadow minister, allegedly after a summer time get together in London in July 2021.

The BBC later reported {that a} grievance was made to the Met however they might not be investigating the matter “at the victim’s request”.

At the time, Labour mentioned it had not been contacted by the police or acquired a proper grievance.

However, Ms Nichols mentioned she has personally raised the problem of the police allegation to the get together hierarchy and there may be “nothing that prevents them from acting”.

‘Rotten tradition in Westminster’

Ms Nichols mentioned she felt compelled to talk out as a result of there may be typically discuss “bad apples” when sleaze scandals emerge in Westminster, however the issue goes a lot deeper – and the methods in place to handle it aren’t efficient.

She mentioned: “When I first came into parliament, literally within the first week, there was a list of names, about 30 MPs, people I was told I should do everything I could to make sure I wasn’t alone with, never accept a drink from, not get a lift with.

“Their unhealthy behaviour is so extensively identified and so little motion has been taken that it’s left to people to maintain themselves protected.”

The backbencher said that “essentially there’s an underlying rotten tradition in Westminster and it is baked into each stage of how the establishment operates”.

“It’s incumbent on all of us to cease speaking about unhealthy apples and discuss what’s inflicting that rot.”

The feedback come after veteran Labour MP Geraint Davies was suspended from the get together pending an investigation into reports, which he denied, of “incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour”.

It has dragged the problem of Westminster sleaze again into the highlight, with MPs set to vote on banning members from parliament if they are under criminal investigation for sexual or violent offences later this month.

Labour has also said it will review its internal complaints procedure amid claims Mr Davies’s behaviour was an “open secret”.

Labour ‘shamed into acting’ over Geraint Davies

Ms Nichols accused her party of being “shamed” into suspending the 63-year-old politician after the allegations surrounding his conduct were reported by Politico on Thursday.

Sky News has seen evidence the Labour Party whips’ office was made aware of allegations many months ago but did not take action.

The party has said it is unable to act in the absence of formal complaints – but Ms Nichols pointed out one had not been made at the time the whip was suspended from Mr Davies shortly after the story broke.

She accused her party of “injury limitation” adding: “None of these items are going to alter until its MPs that push for this modification.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “We would strongly urge anybody with a grievance to return ahead in order that allegations may be swiftly and absolutely investigated and motion taken.

“The party has ensured that there is a wide range of support available to complainants, to provide confidence and confidential guidance throughout the disciplinary process.”