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Vote on barring alleged sex offence MPs from Parliament postponedPublished2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsWestminster harassment scandalImage source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockBy Chas GeigerPolitical reporterA Commons vote on plans to ban MPs accused of a violent or sexual offence from the building has been postponed. MPs were due to debate proposals from a commission of senior MPs next Monday. But Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said after the events of last week – when a debate on the Gaza war ended in chaos – and concerns some MPs had raised, there would be a “better time” for this. Her Labour shadow, Lucy Powell, said the delay would be met with “dismay” by MPs and Commons staff. Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, which represents many workers in Parliament, said after unions had backed measures put forward this week to increase MPs’ safety, it was “lamentable that MPs can not show the same support for the women and men without whom their jobs would be impossible”. Parliament had chosen instead to “focus on short-term party and political management by submitting to the most regressive elements of a discredited Westminster culture”, he added. Alleged sex offence MPs could face Parliament banWhat counts as sexual harassment at work?Ms Mordaunt told MPs the government wanted the exclusion proposals debated and resolved in the Commons. But she added: “I think given the current climate and also concerns that honourable members have raised since it was tabled – some serious questions in particular from learned colleagues – I think there will be a better opportunity to debate this in the House, and I hope that will be soon.”She later clarified that her “current climate” comment did not refer to MPs’ security, but to the Gaza debate when Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s decision to allow a vote on a Labour amendment to a SNP motion prompted the Conservatives and the SNP to walk out of the chamber. ‘Risk-based exclusion’Ms Mordaunt said “trust in our rule book was upended for political advantage” and she did not want to “bring forward a debate which requires members to trust in systems we are putting in place where that trust is fractured”. Labour MP Jess Phillips said Commons staff also needed to trust “what happens here”, adding she had “no idea what happened last week has got to do with keeping this building safe” and “what we’ve been fighting for, for five years”. The exclusion proposals would allow a panel of parliamentarians to ban MPs from the Westminster estate if they were deemed to pose a risk – even if they had not been charged with an offence. The proposals were drawn up by the House of Commons Commission, which includes senior MPs and oversees the working of the Commons, following consultations. Under the plans, a risk assessment would be triggered when the Commons authorities were alerted by police to serious allegations an MP had committed a violent or sexual offence – likely to be the moment of arrest – rather than when an MP was charged. The panel, including senior MPs, would then decide whether MPs under investigation posed a threat and should therefore be barred from the parliamentary estate. Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope, who put forward amendments to the proposals, thanked Ms Mordaunt for postponing the vote. He called for the whole issue to be reviewed, and argued that the threshold for a “risk-based exclusion” should be similar to that in the Lords where it would follow only after a peer had been charged with a serious sexual offence. Currently, police can ban MPs or peers from Parliament as a bail condition after they have been arrested. But parliamentary officials in charge of discipline – such as party whips – do not have the power to stop an MP coming into Parliament. They usually rely on informal agreements with MPs accused of misconduct, asking them to stay away while investigations continue. The proposals, set out by the commission in December, follow a number of high-profile cases in which MPs facing allegations of sexual misconduct were permitted to continue working in the Houses of Parliament. Related TopicsHouse of CommonsPalace of WestminsterPenny MordauntUK ParliamentWestminster harassment scandalMore on this storyAlleged sex offence MPs could face Parliament banPublished2 June 2023What counts as sexual harassment at work?Published19 April 2023
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