UK MPS ACCUSED of serious criminal offences could be banned from the Houses of Parliament under new powers being considered, as the Tories faced pressure to identify and suspend the Conservative MP accused of rape.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said discussions are ongoing to decide whether parliamentarians could be barred from the estate while under police investigation.
The Conservatives have told the unnamed MP to stay away from Parliament while on bail for allegations including sexual assault, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office.
But the party was resisting calls to suspend and identify the Tory, who has only been publicly identified as a man in his 50s.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said they have to be “sensitive” about anonymity for suspects under investigation, saying it can put “enormous strain on individuals” who ultimately do not face prosecution.
Hoyle said that the MP under investigation should stay away from Westminster in the “best interest of both the member” and parliamentary staff.
But he told Times Radio: “Unless the rules change in the House, a member has the right to come in.”
Asked if the Commons authorities could get the powers to block MPs’ passes under the circumstances, Hoyle said: “What I would say is conversations are going on at the moment.”
While it was unclear who would be granted the power to bar MPs, it was understood it was unlikely the Speaker would be able to act single-handedly.
Malthouse told Times Radio: “We have to take care here.
“Far be it for me to give advice to the Speaker but we have to take care when overriding the democratic decisions of the British public.
If anybody is accused of a crime they’re innocent until proven guilty so we just need to be slightly sensitive about that but I’d be interested in seeing what the Speaker concludes.
The Conservatives have not suspended the whip from the MP, meaning he remains a member of the parliamentary party.
But the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary has said he would lose the whip if he was ever charged with an offence.
Labour leader Keir Starmer’s spokesman said “our view is that, given the nature of the allegations, then the whip should be suspended and obviously at that point it would become public”.
There are legal issues with identifying the suspect, but keeping him anonymous has cast suspicion over other MPs who are not facing any allegations.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police bailed the suspect pending further inquiries until mid-June.
Malthouse told Times Radio: “I think the naming of any person who has been accused of a particular crime has to be done proportionally and sensibly.
“We have to be sensitive about the anonymity with particular crime types of crime types of the accused until the police are in the position to take further steps.
“An arrest is obviously an investigative tool and anybody who is arrested is still innocent until proven guilty and there are particular crimes which are very sensitive and attract public approbation even if they are then proven innocent.
“We have in the past had MPs who have been accused of not dissimilar crimes who have been found innocent and where no further action has applied, and that puts enormous strain on individuals as well as indeed it does on victims who are making accusations in those circumstances.”
The latest arrest also follows a Conservative MP being arrested on suspicion of rape in 2020. He was never identified and police took no further action after an investigation.
‘Bad eggs’
Hoyle also said the reputation of the House of Commons can only be rebuilt if “bad eggs” are dealt with.
The Commons Speaker said those who work in Parliament should not feel alone or feel they have to suffer, as he highlighted there is support available.
He also said people should go straight to the police if a criminal offence has been committed.
Asked about his feelings on recent events and allegations involving figures in Westminster, Hoyle told Times Radio: “I’m very, very concerned, not only for victims, but also this doesn’t help the reputation of the House of Commons. Far from it.
“What I want to do is make sure we have clear ways in which to support victims and making sure that those routes are available, and what I would say very clearly – if it is a criminal offence, please go straight to the police.
“We also have our ICGS, our independent complaints way forward, so as I say we have different routes, please use them.
“Do not feel you’re alone. Do not feel that you have to suffer. We’re here to help and support.
“And we’ve got to rebuild the reputation of the House of Commons. We can only do that by ensuring if there are bad eggs out there, let’s get them.”
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