Peter Bone: MP loses seat as recall petition triggers by-election

Controversial: Politics & Govt Politics & Govt: In The News
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It follows a complaint made to the body by a former member of staff, over alleged behaviour which took place over 10 years ago. Peter Bone has denied the allegations, calling them “without foundation”.

The suspension will have to be voted on by the House of Commons to be approved. It would trigger a recall petition that could potentially lead to a by-election in Mr Bone’s Wellingborough seat.

Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel (IEP) found Mr Bone broke Parliament’s sexual misconduct rules by indecently exposing himself to the staffer during an overseas trip (1). It also upheld an allegation Mr Bone “repeatedly pressurised” the staffer to give him a massage in the office. It found this was bullying, but not sexual misconduct.

It also upheld five allegations of bullying, including “instructing, or physically forcing, the complainant to put his hands in his lap when Mr Bone was unhappy with him or his work”. It also found he “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” him, and “repeatedly physically struck and threw things” at him, including hitting him with his hand or an object such as a pencil or a rolled-up document.

According to the watchdog’s report, the complainant had kept a detailed log of Mr Bone’s behaviour at the time, and had submitted “compelling, nuanced and plausible” evidence. It also found his account of events was backed up by witnesses at work, and family members with whom he had spoken about his experiences.

The investigation was triggered following a complaint made in October 2021 with a prior complaint to the Conservative Party - made in 2017 - unresolved. The panel formally began a full investigation in August 2022, with the staffer withdrawing the complaint to the party to stop the two inquiries running in parallel.

In his statement to the BBC, the complainant called on the Conservatives and other parties to review their complaints procedures “with full independent oversight”. “It should not take five years for a complaint to be processed,” he added.

(1) “Dirty old man” … :open_mouth:

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appropriate name,some might say.

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Indeed some might say … :wink:

He is currently in a relationship with physiotherapist (1) Helen Harrison:

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(1) That’ll come in handy … :thinking:

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Got his massage in in the end then…
:blush:

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Thank Gawd you said it and I’m not the only immature one sniggering inappropriately! :rofl:

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Isn’t old Bonio, the dead spit of that other infamous, so called ladies man, Sven Goren Eriksson!? :frowning: :frowning_face_with_open_mouth: :anguished:

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He certainly is … but Sven got a better-looking lover:

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Nancy Dell’Olio

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I am going to have to bone up on this development

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They couldn’t make the bullying charges stick so they add some sexual deviations to his rap sheet. Anything to do with sex and that is enough to disable the most saint like career…

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Hardly “saint-like”:

Bone qualified as a chartered accountant in 1976. In 1995, Bone was described as Britain’s “meanest boss” by the Daily Mirror when he defended paying a 17-year-old trainee at Palm Travel (West) 87p an hour, equivalent to £1.78 in 2021.

In the 2005 general election, Bone ousted Labour MP Paul Stinchcombe in Wellingborough with a majority of 687 votes.

Early on in his career he was described as one of the most active MPs in Parliament, in terms of Questions asked and other contributions. However, the quality of those interventions was questioned in a 2006 article in The Times about the Theyworkforyou website. Bone was one of three MPs specifically alleged to have “boosted their ratings on the internet by saying very little, very often.” Among his 109 speeches was one which ran to three short sentences (standing up for Royal Mail in that a sub-postmaster in Little Irchester had the only business in the village). He regularly referenced his then wife “Mrs Bone” in questions to the Prime Minister’s Questions.

Although Bone was not mentioned in the 2009 Legg Report that was central to the official investigation into the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal and therefore was not one of the 343 MPs required to pay back any money, he was subject to some later reports relating to his expenses. He was one of 32 MPs who claimed the maximum allowance of £4,800 a year for food in 2010 and came under investigation in 2014 for expenses claims relating to the upkeep of his second home. In 2016 he was criticised for using the government’s help-to-buy scheme, which was meant to help young first time buyers, to buy himself a new constituency home.

In February 2014, The Times newspaper reported that Bone had been under investigation by the police for the previous 12 months relating to an alleged £100,000 fraud concerning benefit payments of care home fees for his mother-in-law. Bone issued a lengthy statement denying fraud allegations. In March 2014 the Crown Prosecution Service said it had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

Before they separated, Bone employed his wife, Jennie, as his executive secretary. In 2007–2008 he paid her “in the top bracket of up to £40,000” per annum. The practice of MPs employing family members has been criticised by some sections of the media as nepotism. Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective – meaning that Bone’s employment of his wife was lawful.

Bone is currently in a relationship with physiotherapist Helen Harrison, who has been his senior Parliamentary assistant since 2019

It seems that Bone has managed to stay just on the right side of the procedures and the law … :thinking:

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That reads like the standard Curriculum Vitae of any member of parliament Omah…
:wink:

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That would be Tory Member of Parliament … :wink:

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Spoken like a true labour supporter…
:slightly_smiling_face:

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MPs have voted to suspend Peter Bone from the Commons for six weeks after an investigation found he had bullied and was sexually inappropriate around a former member of staff.

The Conservative Party had already withdrawn the whip from the MP, meaning he will not be able to stand for re-election as a Tory candidate and he currently sits as an independent.

If an MP is suspended for over 10 days due to misconduct, a recall petition is started. A by-election happens if at least 10% of local voters sign the petition, according to the Recall of MPs Act.

“Recall for Bone, Recall for Bone”

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Old mother hubbard went to the cupboard to fetch poor rover a bone…
But when she leaned over, Rover took over, and gave her a bone of his own…
:open_mouth:
:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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Labour campaign to force a by election… :roll_eyes:

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Ugh - OGF! :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Sorry Cinders…I had to do it…
:anguished:

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The petition was signed by 13.2% of eligible voters in the constituency, above the 10% threshold required for Mr Bone to lose his seat.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Bone said the majority of the electorate in the constituency had chosen not to sign the recall petition, describing the process as “bizarre”.

He said the allegations that led to the recall petition were “totally untrue and without foundation”.

“I will have more to say on these matters in the new year,” Mr Bone wrote.

That news has spoilt his Xmas … :man_shrugging:

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Doubt it. Does not look the type, a bone of contention possibly.