John Bercow could face investigation over historical bullying allegations

Speaker John Bercow may now face an investigation over historical complaints of bullying after a powerful House of Commons body voted to change its rules.

The recommendation to permit historical allegations to be investigated came after a damning report by Dame Laura Cox into endemic bullying and harassment in parliament, in which more than 200 former and current Commons staff reported being affected.

The former judge said she found a culture of “deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence” and recommended that people in management roles, including Bercow, should consider their positions. The Speaker has been the subject of multiple bullying allegations, which he denies.

Cox recommended that parliament’s disciplinary body be able to consider historical allegations, and said it should strip MPs of their power to rule on complaints against one another.

On Wednesday, the House of Commons commission – which includes Bercow, the Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom and her Labour opposite, Valerie Vaz – agreed to accept the recommendations, which must now be approved by MPs.

After the meeting, Leadsom said it was an important first step, but hinted that she believed further changes were needed in the Commons hierarchy. “I made clear to the commission, the improvements we need cannot take effect without changes to ensure the management of the House of Commons is more democratic, more accountable and inspires the confidence of its staff, members and the public,” she said in a statement.

Bercow recused himself from chairing Wednesday’s meeting, and the role was carried out by the independent member Jane McCall instead.

Pressure could mount on the Speaker over the coming weeks. An investigation into allegations made against him was blocked by the Commons standards committee, as MPs voted three to two not to allow it to proceed. It said allegations that dated back more than seven years could only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

The Speaker’s former private secretary, Angus Sinclair, told Newsnight earlier this year that Bercow shouted, swore and attempted to physically intimidate him. Bercow is also reported to have bullied another former private secretary, Kate Emms. He denies all the allegations.

In a statement, Bercow said the recommendations were “an important first step in our root-and-branch reform of the culture of this house”. He said he was keen to see the establishment of an independent body to hear and adjudicate on all allegations of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct “as soon as possible”.

In a joint statement, which Bercow signed, the commission said it recognised “an institutional failure to address the problem which has undermined the legitimacy and authority of the House of Commons”.

It continued: “The scale of the problem and depth of hurt caused is beyond dispute. The staff of the House of Commons are essential to the functioning of democracy. We deeply regret that their diligence has at times been so poorly repaid, and that it has taken so long for us recognise what must be done.”

The commission said it hoped that MPs would accept the recommendations. “We would expect to see them progressed as quickly as possible,” it said.

The report had “rightly called into question the culture and leadership of the House of Commons”, the commission said, without mentioning individuals. It “resolved to ensure that Dame Laura Cox’s report marks the moment where we commit to swift and lasting change”.

Labour said it backed the commission and that it was vital that the recommendations were implemented swiftly.

On Wednesday night, Maria Miller became the fourth Tory MP to quit a separate committee headed by the Speaker, citing his leadership and a failure to tackle bullying in parliament. The education minister, Anne Milton, the Tory whip, Mims Davies, and Will Quince, a private secretary in the Ministry of Defence, resigned from the same committee on Tuesday.