Alcohol plays a role in poor behaviour in Parliament (Image: Getty Images)
Alcohol has played a role in half the complaints against MPs investigated by an official watchdog, it has emerged.
Last night the watchdog issued a reminder to MPs to remember “the need to obtain consent before any conduct of a sexual nature”.
It follows long-standing concern about a drinking culture in Parliament and reports earlier this year of a spiking incident in House of Commons bar Strangers, which led to a Metropolitan Police investigation.
The bar closed for a month and re-opened on Monday with new security measures including a CCTV camera in place to prevent future incidents. House of Commons bar staff have received spiking awareness training and covers for glassware, which can be used to prevent substances being added to drinks, are now available to customers on request.
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The warning comes from the Independent Expert Panel, which was set up by Parliament to determine the punishment for MPs found guilty of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, as well as to consider appeals from MPs who say they are innocent. It is chaired by retired high court judge Sir Adrian Fulford.
In its annual report it highlighted the case of former MP Aaron Bell who was found to have groped a woman in Strangers when he was drunk. The panel, set up in 2020, said: “The presence of alcohol, and the inebriation of the respondent, is a factor in a significant proportion of cases considered by the Panel. Allegations about incidents when the respondent had been drinking alcohol featured in half of the cases that the Panel has reported on since it was created (including cases where the complaint was not upheld but the fact the respondent had been drinking was not in dispute).
“In a number of these cases the respondent MP allowed the lines between the professional and social to become blurred and had forgotten, or ignored, their position of power in relation to others.”
The panel continued: “MPs, as with all members of the Parliamentary community, must always be mindful of the need to obtain consent before any conduct of a sexual nature, no matter the context, and that it ‘can never be implied, assumed or coerced’
“MPs must be especially aware of their power when socialising in a professional context, especially (but not only) when they are on the Parliamentary estate which is a workplace.”
Mr Bell, a Conservative who stood down as an MP in last year’s election, touched a young member of staff “on her left thigh, waist and bottom inappropriately and without her consent,” an investigation found. He told an inquiry he was “clearly drunk’ and could not “recall everything about the evening”, which took place in 2023 when he was a government whip.
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Others accused of drunken behaviour include Neil Coyle, who remains a Labour MP and was found responsible for harassment on two occasions after he “engaged in foul-mouthed and drunken abuse of a Parliamentary Assistant to another MP” and used “abusive language with racial overtones” to a journalist. Both incidents took place in Strangers and a report by the Independent Expert Panel said: “In relation to both episodes, it was clear that very marked abuse of alcohol was at the root of events.”
The alleged spiking incident in Strangers, which is frequented by politicians, Commons staff and journalists, is said to have taken place at about 6.30pm on Tuesday 7 January. Police have confirmed an investigation was launched but no arrests have been made.
Announcing the new security measures a House of Commons spokesperson said: “The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority of both Houses.
“Following a review of arrangements in Strangers’ Bar, the House of Commons Commission has endorsed a number of changes that aim to enhance existing safety measures and ensure the well-being of all customers who visit the bar.”