Rachel Gilmour visited Hinkley last month, with sources accusing her of astonishing behaviour (Image: Rachel Gilmour/X/Parliament)
A Liberal Democrat MP has been accused of unleashing an “astonishing” sweary rant during a visit to Hinkley Point nuclear plant. Rachel Gilmour left onlookers shocked after calling junior staff obscene words in an outburst witnessed by others.
The MP for Tiverton and Minehead “emphatically” rejected the claims and insisted there were “major factual errors”. But a source said she called a security guard at the front gate a “c***” and an “obnoxious t***” before reportedly speculating “I bet he votes f****** Tory”. It followed an incident with her driver’s licence that was found to be invalid, sources claimed.
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This week, I visited Hinkley Point, where I met with the management team in control of site operations.Great to speak with representatives from and the NRS about the project’s community engagement, the decommissioning process, and the work that goes on day-to-day.
— Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton & Minehead (@RachelGilmourLD)
Ms Gilmour was then taken to watch an end-of-year film, including the story of a local apprentice who has found training and work at the nuclear site.
During the film, the MP reportedly spat: “Why are you showing me this s***. Don’t show me this s*** again.”
Sources said that in another outburst, a constituent who asked to tell the Lib Dem her story about working at the plant was met with the response: “I’m not going to chat s*** with my constituents either.”
The comments, relayed to the Express by sources present at the time, were said to have “shocked everyone in the room” and left them in a mood “of astonishment”.
In a social media post after the visit on February 18, Ms Gilmour claimed it had been “great” to speak to EDF staff at the site.
The MP denied the claims but conceded that there was an incident at the front gate regarding the validity of her driving licence.
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The LibDems are so far ignoring demands for an investigation (Image: Getty)
Rebecca Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, said: “There are serious questions to answer. These are very serious allegations that, if true, bring not just the reputation of the MP involved into disrepute, but all MPs by association.
“It is deeply worrying that the Liberal Democrats are not immediately looking into this. They must investigate at once; anything less is a failure of leadership from Ed Davey.”
In a statement, Ms Gilmour’s spokesman said the MP “emphatically rejects the claims and characterisation regarding her conduct at this visit”.
The statement added: “This was an important visit to a site of massive significance to the constituency, and to Rachel’s role as a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
“As a hardworking constituency MP, Rachel makes multiple visits to businesses and organisations every week, as well as holding regular surgeries. Indeed, she will soon be making a visit to the business of a constituent she met when at Hinkley.”
The Liberal Democrats are refusing to investigate the allegations themselves and are currently accepting Ms Gilmour’s denials.
EDF, which owns the power plant, refused to comment.