A new wave of sexual scandals rocks 'Pestminster'

Westminster is being renamed again these days as Pestminster. This is how the British Parliament is popularly known for the “plague” of sexual scandals that do not stop and that mainly affect the Conservative Party, with a dozen cases accumulated in the last term and two very recent ones.

The suspension of Peter Bone, 71, for hitting, verbally abusing and “putting his genitals in the face of a male worker in his parliamentary office” was still underway, when the arrest of MP Crispin Blunt, 63, accused, made headlines. of rape and illegal drug possession.

The two cases occurred in a matter of hours, and the most astonishing thing is that no one tore their clothes in the upper echelons of the Conservative Party.. The reaction was more of a déjà vu, as if it had been known for a long time and all that was missing was the final confirmation or the mea culpa of those involved (given the open secrecy that usually surrounds these cases).

The most ironic thing is that it was a woman, the Secretary of Education, Gillian Keegan, who had to say publicly that we are not facing “a cultural problem” of the Tories, but rather “isolated incidents”. In his opinion, the suspension of the two deputies is simply due to the “clarity” with which Premier Rishi Sunak is maintaining the “high standards” among his coreligionists.

Another rooster crowed in 2017, when Theresa May was prime minister and took matters into her own hands in the face of another wave of scandals at the height of #MeToo. May wrote directly to the president of the House of Commons, the irate John Bercow, and asked him to create a “mediation” and support service, in the event of possible complaints of sexual harassment against MPs, as well as an urgent reform of the measures disciplinary.

With the arrival of Boris Johnson, a thick veil was removed over the sexual scandals, and it was precisely his decision to promote Chris Pincher – suspended some time later for “touching” two men when he was drunk in a private club – that ultimately led to instantiates its fall in the midst of the Partygate storm.

The choppy waters of the Tories are returning to their channel, and here we have the champion of the hard wing and ardent defender of Brexit, Peter Bone, digging his political grave. The shocking incident dates back to 2013 and has taken a whopping ten years to reach the conclusion of the Independent Panel of Experts, eventually accused of “repeated acts of harassment and one of sexual misconduct.”

The coveted object of her anger and desire was “a male member of her staff” with whom she shared a hotel room during a work trip and in front of whom she openly removed her towel, resulting in “exposure.” in the face and when the two were in the bathroom. When he did not comply with his advances, Bone retaliated by isolating and humiliating him in the parliamentary office, and even “throwing objects at him on a number of occasions.”

Peter Bone's scandal gave way in a few hours to that of his fellow religionist Crispin Blunt, uncle of actress Emily Blunt, to be exact.. The police reported the arrest of a deputy for rape and drug possession, and Blunt himself came forward, said it had been him and expressed his confidence in ending up acquitted and “without charges” when the investigation ends.

For the moment it has been suspended and has opened the doors to the possibility of new special elections like those held just ten days ago and which led to the disaster of the conservatives, in their lowest moments.

Although there have also been at least two cases among Labor members, Tory MPs undoubtedly take the cake in this rocky legislature. In 2020, Charlie Elphicke was sentenced to two years in prison for three counts of sexual assault of two women. A year later it was the turn of Imran Ahmad Khan, sentenced to 18 months for “sexual assault” of a 15-year-old boy.

Also in 2021, David Burton was accused of sexual harassment by three women and Julian Knight was temporarily expelled from the parliamentary group for another case of irregular sexual conduct.. Rob Roberts also left the Conservative Party and now takes his seat as an independent after being accused and suspended for “unwelcome sexual advances” by a male worker in his office.

Another conservative parliamentarian was also arrested in May 2022 for sexual assault and rape, although he has not yet been indicted and his case is under investigation.. His name is still not made public after a year and a half thanks to a law on the privacy of their honors approved in 2016.