Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

UK parliament dogged by misconduct claims as two more MPs suspended

UK parliament dogged by misconduct claims as two more MPs suspended

Rishi Sunak promised integrity in politics but some in his party think an electoral loss is needed to clear out unpleasant MPs.
The bad behavior never seems to stop with a ninth U.K. MP now under investigation as Westminster struggles to deal with a wave of abuse claims.

Two senior backbenchers — Julian Knight, a Conservative, and Labour’s Conor McGinn — were suspended by their parties Wednesday night.

Knight lost the whip after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan Police, a Conservative Party spokeswoman said, while declining to comment on the nature of the allegation. Knight, who has chaired the influential culture select committee since 2020, tweeted that the decision was “wrong and unjustified” and claimed he had been “subject to a campaign of rumor and innuendo.” He has “recused” himself from parliament, and is expected to be replaced as committee chair while the matter is investigated. 

McGinn, who has held several roles on Labour’s front bench, said he has not been told of the details of the allegation but was “confident that it is entirely unfounded.”

The ongoing scandal adds to the political pressure on Britain’s latest prime minister, Rishi Sunak. On the campaign trail this summer, Sunak vowed to prioritize integrity but has since been forced to confront a series of misconduct allegations against members of his own party. His own deputy PM, Dominic Raab, is currently under investigation following complaints of bullying, which he denies.

The string of cases is also affecting morale within the party. One female Tory parliamentary candidate said: “We’re all increasingly annoyed that it keeps happening.” She added that there “are quite a few younger Tories — male and female — who think a big loss [at the next election] could actually be the making of the party in terms of getting rid of dead wood, especially the more unpleasant elements.”

The latest suspensions bring the total number of British MPs currently under investigation over their conduct — by the police, party bosses or the parliamentary complaints scheme — to nine, while seven more MPs continue to sit as independents indefinitely after being suspended from their parties.

Knight is the fourth Conservative to be kicked out of the party this year, including former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who lost the whip after announcing he would take part in the reality TV show “I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.”

Former Chief Whip Chris Pincher, who oversaw party discipline, was suspended from the Conservative Party over the summer following allegations of sexual harassment and remains under investigation, as does backbencher David Warburton. An unnamed Conservative MP has been under arrest since May on suspicion of rape and other offenses, but retains the party whip.

Senior Tory MPs have warned the current system is not dealing properly with MPs accused of sexual harassment or assault. 

Andrea Leadsom, a former Cabinet minister, said: “It’s concerning to female colleagues that a male colleague could be accused of these things, and it just goes into the ether.”

When she was Commons leader, Leadsom helped set up parliament’s independent complaints system through which staff can report bullying and harassment. 

She told POLITICO the scheme was failing because the original plan to set up an HR service alongside it was never fully implemented, meaning the complaints system is “clogged” with lower-level workplace grievances, so victims are reluctant to pursue more serious accusations because it takes so long.

A protocol set up by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which allows potential criminal behavior to be referred to the police, may never have been used, Leadsom suggested.

She said some female colleagues were “pretty miserable” with the general state of political life, and in particular, the slowness to deal with problems that damage the reputation of all MPs.

Rachel Maclean, Conservative Party vice-chair, insisted procedures for making complaints about MPs had improved in recent years. She told GB News “we have made a lot of progress” and that it was vital to maintain “due process and justice” in ongoing allegations. 

A House of Commons spokesperson said they did not accept the ICGS as “failing” and pointed out there is an established HR support service for MPs’ staff.

They added that a range of services are available to staff, including a free and confidential helpline for advice on personal and work-related issues, and that complaints are referred to other bodies where appropriate.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
×