May seeks meeting with party leaders about sexual misconduct claims

Prime minister Theresa May wrote to fellow party leaders, seeking a meeting on new measures to combat sexual abuse and harassment at Westminster.

Speaking after ordering an investigation into allegations that her deputy, Damian Green, made inappropriate advances towards a female activist, which he denies, May said the wider reporting of misconduct “demands a response”.

May said she had invited other party leaders to a meeting early next week and both labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and SNP’s Westminster head Ian Blackford, said they were happy to attend.

“Mister speaker, members on both sides of the house have been deeply concerned about allegations of harassment and mistreatment here in Westminster”, May said.

The leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, had been in talks with other parties, she added.

“It demands a response and that is why my right honourable friend the leader of the house has been meeting with her counterparts and we are hopeful that all sides can work together quickly to resolve this.

“I’ve written to all party leaders inviting them to a meeting early next week so we can discuss a common, transparent independent grievance procedure for all those working in parliament. We have a duty to ensure that everyone coming here to contribute to public life is treated with respect.”

Before he began his questions to May, which concerned tax avoidance, Corbyn said he would work with the PM on the issue.

 “On the question of the sex harassment allegations that the prime minister quite rightly referred to, just to put on the record I am happy to meet with the prime minister and all party leaders to discuss this,” he said.

“We need better protections for all in this house. This house must involve workplace trade unions in that. But it’s also incumbent on all parties to have robust procedures in place to protect and support victims of sexual abuse and harassment.”

Blackford also said the SNP would participate: “Can I associate myself with the remarks made by the prime minister when she talked about the zero tolerance that there has to be for bad sexual practices and behaviour.

 “And I certainly commit my members to work with the government to make sure that we can have a system that we can be proud of that will protect all members of the houses of parliament.”

The exchanges came amid a series of allegations connected to MPs and ministers, the majority of them so far unverified.

The claims about Green come from Kate Maltby, who is 30 years younger than him.

She told the Times that Green “fleetingly” touched her knee during a meeting in a Waterloo pub in 2015 and sent her a “suggestive” text message after she was pictured wearing a corset in the newspaper.

Green, one of May’s closest political allies, said any allegation that he made sexual advances to Maltby was “untrue [and] deeply hurtful”.

One Tory MP, Anna Soubry, has called for Green to be suspended while the allegations are investigated.