Roberts faces six week suspension for sexual misconduct

LONDON: An MP who made repeated unwanted sexual advances to a member of staff faces a six-week suspension from the Commons.

Rob Roberts was stripped of the Tory whip after a complaints panel found he abused his position of authority and broke Parliament’s sexual misconduct policy.

The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) found that Roberts made repeated and unwanted advances towards the man, although the MP insisted his actions were “romantic” rather than sexual. The suspension will only be imposed if it is approved by MPs and a loophole means Roberts may escape the prospect of his constituents forcing a by-election despite the serious punishment.

Sir Stephen Irwin, chairman of the IEP, said: “The misconduct demonstrated here was significant. It is evident that Mr Roberts MP was in a very powerful position as an employer in relation to the reporter. Our conclusion is that the determination of six weeks’ suspension from the service of the House was proper and proportionate.”

Despite the prospect of a six-week suspension from Westminster, the process for a petition to force a by-election under the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is not triggered by a punishment imposed on the recommendation of the IEP, which did not exist at the time the law was passed.

For a recall to be initiated, the sanction must be imposed on the recommendation of the Committee on Standards or a similar Commons committee. The complaint was made in June 2020 that Roberts made “repeated and unwanted sexual advances” to the person who made the complaint and also made “inappropriate comments of a sexual nature and was overly intrusive about his personal life”.

The IEP report said Roberts acknowledged that aspects of his behaviour towards the man who made the complaint were inappropriate, and offered an apology. The case was investigated by the Parliamentary Commission for Standards which found Roberts had breached the sexual misconduct policy.

The MP appealed to the IEP, first against the ruling and then against the proposed sanction. The recommendation of a six-week suspension takes into account the “abuse of power or authority” by Roberts as an aggravating factor.

But the IEP acknowledged that he was going through “several challenges and significant changes in his personal life when he breached the sexual misconduct policy”. Roberts split from his wife and announced he was gay in 2020.

The panel said the sanction “reflects our view that the sexual misconduct found proved in this case amounts to a serious breach of the behaviour code which has significantly impacted the wellbeing of the reporter and has the propensity to undermine the legitimacy and authority of the House of Commons”.

The MP’s former staff member who made the complaint told BBC Wales Roberts repeatedly propositioned him and asked him to “be less alluring”.