British parliamentarian Peter Bone, 70, faces the end of his political career after subjecting one of his employees to a “deliberate” chain of physical and mental abuse and at least one instance of sexual indecency in a hotel in Madrid, according to an official investigation. The conclusion of the Parliamentary Complaints Commission’s Independent Panel of Experts (IPE) has recommended a six-week suspension from his seat, prompting the Conservative Party to withdraw confidence in its Wellingborough MP with immediate effect.
The IPE considered the complaint against Bone to be a “serious case of inappropriate conduct”, which included a “deliberate and intentional abuse of power”. His victim, who preserves his right to anonymity, revealed to the BBC the “horrible, brutal and dark experience” he endured when he worked with the veteran politician for several months in 2012 and 2013.
“I ended up like the broken shell of the young man I was,” the victim confessed in an interview in which she describes the “erratic behavior” of the radical Eurosceptic. “He has an explosive temperament, like a pendulum that jumps from one personality type to another. I had a hard time predicting (his mood) and I felt under constant siege,” she added.
Bone denies the facts reported by his former employee, although he has lost the appeals accepted in the Complaints Commission process. He was awaiting the verdict of his colleagues and parliamentary opponents who ratified the recommended penalty in a vote free of party discipline, which was held on Wednesday afternoon.
The suspension of the Chamber for a period of six weeks automatically activates the re-election process of the discredited deputy with the endorsement of 10% of the voters of the constituency. The election would be called at a critical time for the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose popularity has collapsed.
The official report presents a devastating portrait of the accused. “The abuses,” the panel concludes, “included violence, shouting, swearing, mockery, ignoring, humiliating behavior, ostracism…”.
It also confirms an act of sexual indecency that took place during a work visit to Spain in January 2013. It apparently occurred in the bathroom of a hotel room in Madrid, when the parliamentarian undressed and “exposed his genitals very close to the face” of the young employee.
On other occasions the plaintiff felt forced to massage her shoulders and neck after ensuring that they were both alone in the Westminster office and closing the door firmly. Investigators further accept that Bone “repeatedly hit” and threw things at his subordinate.
In recent days at the head of the Conservative Executive, and with the investigation already underway, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promoted his eurosceptic ally to the position of deputy spokesperson for the Government in the House of Commons.
