By-election likely after MPs vote to suspend Tory Peter Bone over sexual misconduct allegations

Tory Peter Bone has been suspended from the House of Commons over allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct, paving the way for another by-election.

The Commons voted to approve a six weeks suspension for the veteran MP after Parliament's Independent Expert Panel (IEP) ruled he "committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct" against a member of his staff in 2012 and 2013.

Mr Bone, who has been the MP for Wellingborough since 2005, was kicked out the Parliamentary Conservative Party over the allegations against him, which he says are "false and untrue".

ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton on what Peter Bone's suspension means

He is now likely to leave Parliament, with Labour expected to force a by-election, which would be fought by a different Tory candidate.

A by-election can be triggered if an MP is suspended for more than 10 days and 10% of their local constituents sign a recall petition.

Despite Mr Bone's majority of more than 18,500, Labour will be hoping it can drum up support for local constituents to recall the MP, given it won 26.5% of the vote there in 2019.

A report by the IEP - and approved by Parliament's Committee on Standards - said he “committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct” against a member of his staff more than 10 years ago.

Five allegations were made in October 2021, with the complainant having had a complaint to then-prime minister Theresa May in 2017 unresolved, according to the IEP report.

The complaints included four allegations of bullying, saying Mr Bone:

– “Verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” his employee;

– “Repeatedly physically struck and threw things” at the victim, including hitting them with his hand or an object;

– Imposed an “unwanted and humiliating ritual” on the employee when the MP was unhappy with their work;

– Ostracised the complainant following an incident on a work trip.

The complainant also alleged that Mr Bone had “repeatedly pressurised” the member of staff to give him a massage in the office and, on a work trip abroad, indecently exposed himself to the complainant in a hotel room.

In his response to the IEP's findings, Mr Bone said: "As I have maintained throughout these proceedings, none of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place.

"They are false and untrue claims. They are without foundation."

He said the complainant had not raised the issues during their employment and said ICGS rules meant he could not "detail my views on the huge inconsistencies and lack of evidence in the allegations".

Mr Bone said he is "discussing with lawyers what action could and should be taken".

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