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Peter Bone suspended as Tory MP after bullying probe

PA Media Peter BonePA Media

Peter Bone has been suspended as a Conservative MP after an investigation found he had bullied and was sexually inappropriate around a former member of staff.

Parliament's behaviour watchdog found Mr Bone had exposed himself to an aide and physically struck him.

The watchdog recommended suspending him from the Commons for six weeks.

Mr Bone has denied the allegations, calling them "without foundation", and is appealing the decision.

The Conservative Party has now withdrawn the whip from the MP, meaning he will sit as an independent and will not be able to stand for re-election as a Tory candidate.

If MPs approve the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' recommendation of a six-week Commons ban for Mr Bone it could lead to a by-election in his Wellingborough constituency - a Conservative safe seat with a vote majority of nearly 20,000.

Parliament's Independent Expert Panel (IEP) found Mr Bone broke Parliament's sexual misconduct rules by indecently exposing himself to the staffer during an overseas trip.

The investigation was based on a complaint made to the body by a former member of staff, over alleged behaviour which took place more than 10 years ago.

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Who is Peter Bone?

  • The 70-year-old has been active in Tory politics since the 1970s but did not make it to the Commons until 2005
  • A prominent Brexit-supporter, he campaigned with Nigel Farage in the 2016 referendum
  • Turned Wellingborough from an ultra-marginal into a safe Conservative seat, with an 18,540 majority at the 2019 election
  • A leading voice on the right of the Tory Party, he briefly served as deputy Commons leader under Boris Johnson
  • Was known for jokey references in Parliament to his wife Jenny as "Mrs Bone" - but the couple split in 2016 and he is reportedly in a new relationship
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The panel also upheld five allegations of bullying, including "instructing, or physically forcing, the complainant to put his hands in his lap when Mr Bone was unhappy with him or his work".

It also found he "verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated" him, and "repeatedly physically struck and threw things" at him, including hitting him with his hand or an object such as a pencil or a rolled-up document.

The panel also upheld an allegation that Mr Bone "repeatedly pressurised" the staffer to give him a massage in the office. It found this was bullying, but not sexual misconduct.

A spokeswoman for government Chief Whip Simon Hart said: "Following a report by the Independent Expert Panel, the chief whip has removed the Conservative whip from Peter Bone MP."

Any suspension for Mr Bone would have to be approved by his fellow MPs via a vote in the House of Commons.

If approved, this would trigger a recall petition that could potentially lead to a by-election in Mr Bone's Northamptonshire constituency.

The seat is due to become a target for Labour at the next general election, when the constituency boundary changes to take in the nearby towns of Rushden and Higham Ferrers.

'Serious questions'

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain said: "This is too little too late, it shouldn't have taken this long for (Rishi) Sunak to act."

She added that "serious questions remain" over the handling of the case by the Conservative Party "and what successive prime ministers knew about Peter Bone's conduct".

The Conservative Party launched an investigation into Mr Bone's conduct in 2018, but the party says "the complainant withdrew from the process before the case was heard".

In July 2022, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Mr Bone to the job of deputy Commons leader, which involves handling how complaints of bullying are dealt with. He was sacked from the role by Mr Johnson's successor Liz Truss.

The Lib Dems are calling for Rishi Sunak to order a Cabinet Office inquiry "to get to the bottom of this matter once and for all".