Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant reveals he’s been groped by five MPs during his time in the Commons and one politician ‘rubbed himself behind me in the queue to vote’
- Senior MP claims in a new book that five male MPs ‘felt my bottom uninvited’
Senior MP Sir Chris Bryant has revealed he’s been groped by five MPs during his 22-year spell in Parliament.
The Labour backbencher, who is chair of the House of Commons’ Committee on Standards, claimed in a new book that five male MPs ‘have felt my bottom uninvited’.
He also said one had ‘pushed me against a wall and felt my crotch’, while another had ‘rubbed himself behind me in the queue to vote’.
Sir Chris, who has been MP for Rhondda since 2001, has not indentified any of the politicians but confirmed his allegations relate to five people in total.
The 61-year-old’s new book, titled Code of Conduct: Why We Need to Fix Parliament — and How to Do it, makes the case for the public accepting ‘good enough’ MPs and not saints.
Senior MP Sir Chris Bryant has revealed he’s been groped by five MPs during his 22-year spell in Parliament
The Labour backbencher, who is chair of the House of Commons’ Committee on Standards, claimed in a new book that five male MPs ‘have felt my bottom uninvited’
Sir Chris, who has been MP for Rhondda since 2001, has not indentified any of the politicians but confirmed his allegations relate to five people in total
During his time writing the book, the number of MPs suspended rose from 20 to 22.
Sir Chris, who is openly gay and married, revealed his own experience of bad behaviour in Parliament in extracts published by the i newspaper.
‘Over the years five male MPs have felt my bottom uninvited. One of them, who was not out, did so repeatedly,’ he wrote.
‘Another, who is still in the House and still does not accept that he is gay, pushed me against a wall and felt my crotch.
‘Another rubbed himself behind me in the queue to vote and was later snogging two men in the Strangers’ Bar.
‘I know other gay MPs and staff who have faced the same.’
In his role as chair of the Committee on Standards, Sir Chris often considers wrongdoing by MPs.
He acknowledged his own flaws as being ‘impulsive, sanctimonious and pmpous’ at the start of his book, which is described as a clean-up manual for Parliament.
‘I know there are occasions when I have got my facts wrong, and the whirligig of politics has spun so fast I haven’t corrected the record,’ he wrote.
Sir Chris previously spoke about being groped in Parliament during a radio interview last year.
He told LBC: ‘I remember when I came in, in 2001, I was regularly touched up by older, senior gay – well, they weren’t out but – MPs.
‘I never felt I was able to report it because you end up being part of the story, and that’s the last thing you want. And I think a lot of women have been through that.’
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