Politics

John Bercow ‘bullied Commons chief so badly his health collapsed and was forced to take early retirement’


A HOUSE of Commons boss has claimed John Bercow bullied him so badly his health collapsed and he was forced to take early retirement.

The bombshell fresh allegation by Lord Lisvane is believed to be at the centre of a substantial dossier the peer has submitted on the former Speaker to Parliament’s watchdog this week.

 Lord Lisvane submitted a lengthy dossier on John Bercow's alleged bullying to Parliament's watchdog

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Lord Lisvane submitted a lengthy dossier on John Bercow’s alleged bullying to Parliament’s watchdogCredit: Parliament
 The dossier runs to 'dozens' of pages and catalogues five long years of alleged abuse by Mr Bercow

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The dossier runs to ‘dozens’ of pages and catalogues five long years of alleged abuse by Mr BercowCredit: AFP or licensors

It runs to “dozens” of pages, and catalogues five long years of alleged abuse by Mr Bercow, The Sun has also learned.

Lord Lisvane has never reported Mr Bercow’s behaviour before.

But he has told friends he was motivated to act now to try to stop the former Speaker from getting a peerage from Labour after Boris Johnson refused to nominate him.

The former Clerk of the Commons told friends that elevating Mr Bercow to the Lords would amount to “a staggering betrayal of all the people he has bullied, humiliated and abused”.

It also emerged that at least three more former senior staff of Mr Bercow’s are currently considering filing formal complaints about his behaviour to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Highly respected Lord Lisvane was Clerk of the Commons, the house’s most senior civil servant, until 2014.

BITTER BERCOW RUN-INS

It was known that Lord Lisvane – then, Sir Robert Rogers – took early retirement after bitter run-ins with Mr Bercow.

But the real cause of his stress-related health problems – which he blames on the Speaker’s continual haranguing – have been kept quiet.

The senior clerk told friends at the time of his resignation that Mr Bercow subjected him to “a constant litany of criticism”.

The friend told The Sun: “Bercow told Robert he was no good, he was useless, he was f***ing this and f***ing that, all of the time.

“He tried to make him feel completely worthless, without ever making any specific allegations of what he was supposed to have done wrong.

“The clerks used to call it Bercow’s ‘carpet chewing’.

‘HEALTH SUFFERED’

“Eventually Robert’s health started to suffer with the daily stress of it all, so he decided to resign early.”

The friend also recalls Lord Lisvane telling him that Mr Bercow was “a schizophrenic character”, who would switch from being charming and polite to being foul-mouthed and abusive.

The friend added: “Robert called him a Jekyll and Hyde character, which is the classic trait of the most effective bully. You don’t know whether you’re dealing with Jekyll or Hyde from one day to the next, he’d say”.

It is also known that Lord Lisvane took a detailed note of all of Mr Bercow’s behaviour through out their five years working together.

The dramatic new revelation comes as the ex-speaker lashed out at the Government for trying to block the peerage that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has nominated him for.

In an extraordinary statement, Mr Bercow said it was “increasingly obvious” that he wasn’t going to become a Lord.

‘NOT A BULLY’ , CLAIMS BERCOW

He also categorically denied that he had “ever bullied anyone, anywhere at any time”.

The former MP said: “It has become increasingly obvious that the Government has no intention of honouring the centuries old convention that a departing Speaker is promptly elevated to the House of Lords.

“Indeed, it has been suggested to me that the Government actively seeks to block any other attempt to nominate me for membership of the Upper House.”

Downing Street said they expected all allegations of improper conduct in Parliament to be investigated.

A No.10 spokesman said: “These are very concerning allegations and they need to be investigated thoroughly.

“Everyone working in Parliament deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. There can be no place for bullying and abuse in Westminster, or any other workplace and it is important that the Parliamentary leadership responded fully and promptly to any concerns that are raised.

PROPRIETY TEST

“It’s a matter for HOLAC to look into proposed appointments and make sure thy pass they propriety test.”

Cabinet Minister Andrea Leadsom also piled pressure to axe a possible peerage for former speaker John Bercow as fresh bullying allegations emerged.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Mrs Leadsom said: “The whole purpose of that was that anybody, including the

Speaker of the House of Commons whoever he or she may be, should also be subject to that procedure.

“In the event that there are genuine, upheld complaints about any persons that should have an impact on whether they are found suitable for the House of Lords.”

Downing Street has suggested it could block Mr Bercow’s nomination, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman highlighting a “long-standing convention” that opposition leaders nominate individuals form their own parties.

Mr Bercow left the speaker’s chair on October 31 and has been replaced by Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

 Highly respected Lord Lisvane was Clerk of the Commons until 2014 and took early retirement after bitter run-ins with John Bercow

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Highly respected Lord Lisvane was Clerk of the Commons until 2014 and took early retirement after bitter run-ins with John Bercow
The former speaker John Bercow offered an international version of his trademark shout while appearing on Italy’s popular talk show Che Tempo Che Fa



 





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