Labour MP compares parliament's power imbalance to Hollywood as political world braced for more revelations

A Labour MP has compared the situation in parliament
with the Hollywood abuse scandal, with people
desperate to advance in an industry.
A list of 13 MPs facing harassment allegations has
been circulating at Westminster, according to The
Daily Telegraph, as Number 10 again made clear any
unwanted sexual behaviour was "completely
unacceptable".
Meanwhile the Guido Fawkes website claimed Tory
aides had compiled a spreadsheet of 36 Conservative
MPs - including 20 ministers - accused of
inappropriate behaviour. The Conservatives declined
to comment.
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Over the weekend the Prime Minister ordered a
Cabinet Office inquiry into whether International Trade
Minister Mark Garnier had breached the ministerial
code over claims he asked his Commons secretary to
buy sex toys and called her "sugar tits".
Lucy Powell said: "When you have that mix of lots of
desperate people in that environment, this sort of
power abuse - because that's what it is, it's about a
power inequality - can thrive."
But she said Mrs May was "too weak" to tackle the
problem and in Mr Garnier's case "referring something
off to the ministerial code is just not sufficient".
Labour's John Mann said he knew of four cases of
"objectionable behaviour", including two where women
made complaints, one to her political party and one to
the parliamentary authorities.
One of the allegations "passes the criminal threshold"
and one is "appalling", he said.
Mr Mann told LBC: "These are within the last couple
of years, both of these, so we're talking of actual
complaints where the woman have, in one case, been
told to get lost, it's nothing to do with us, and in the
other case, nothing is done and she's not even got
back to with a response, which shows how badly
actual complaints are treated and these are serious
complaints."
The MP said he was calling for the cases, which
relate to two different parties but do not involve
Conservatives, to be reopened.
He added: "In one case, the police were involved and
then the police couldn't prosecute because the
alleged assault took place abroad."
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, told the
BBC’s Andrew Marr that the culture was even worse
30 years ago when she was first elected.
“You would have sort of micro-sexual aggression. So
women would get up in the chamber and Tories
opposite would do this gesture like they were
weighing their breasts,” she said.
“There was harassment, there were jokes which
weren’t that funny – it was partly to do with the fact
it was a very male environment – 650 MPs, when I
went there just 20-odd women.
“It was partly to do with idea of all these men away
from home, it was partly to do with the fact there
were eight bars and the very long hours and the bars
were open for as long as we’re sitting, and partly with
the notion that what happens in Westminster stays in
Westminster. It was worse – it’s a little bit better now
– but there’s a long way to go.”

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