CCTV cameras could be installed in MPs’ offices to stamp out bullying and sexual abuse – under a new “Pestminster” crackdown.
New plans could also see researchers issued with GPS-tracked ‘grope alarms’ to record the exact time and location of any assault.
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And Westminster’s drinking dens may be banned from serving booze until 6pm at night.
The moves drawn up by Speaker John Bercow amid fears an independent report into the ‘Pestminster’ scandal broke by The Sun two years ago will shame the Commons.
Sources told the Mail on Sunday that Speaker Bercow and his staff are “fearing the worst”.
On Friday, one of the Speaker’s main aides, Serjeant at Arms Kamal El-Hajji resigned just months after being found guilty of bullying.
‘OWN PROTECTION’
The inquiry by Gemma White QC has looked into the complaints of 100 MPs about groping and verbal bullying.
A source familiar with the Speaker’s plans said the new cameras would be for MP’s “own protection”.
They said: “If a staff member accuses them of sexual assault, rape or verbal abuse they can scroll the footage and prove their innocence or otherwise.”
The ‘Pestminster’ scandal erupted in October 2017 when The Sun revealed Cabinet Ministers had been named by furious female staff in a secret list of sex-pest MPs on social media.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was forced to resign over claims he had lunged at a female journalist and attempted to kiss her on the lips after a lunch.
Days before the revelation, Andrea Leadsom had told Downing Street about ‘lewd’ remarks Sir Michael had made about her.
Damien Green was sacked as de-facto deputy PM in December 2017 after a Cabinet investigation found he had misled the public and MPs over what he knew about porn found on an office computer.
