Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have urged staff and researchers working in Westminster to come forward about sexual harassment or assault in parliament after reports emerged of allegations on a WhatsApp group.



The prime minister’s spokeswoman said reports of a WhatsApp group where female staff and researchers in Westminster shared information about MPs and ministers who have behaved inappropriately were “deeply concerning”.

“Any reports of sexual harassment are deeply concerning. The prime minister was very clear that any unwanted sexual behaviour is completely unacceptable in any walk of life including politics,” the spokeswoman said.



Corbyn, the Labour leader, said he agreed with May’s call for any incidents to be reported and urged all employers to make sure they have the right systems in place to deal with bosses who exploit “unequal power relationships” to abuse more junior staff.

The WhatsApp group of Westminster staffers is reported by the Sun newspaper to have named senior politicians they did not feel safe around.

No 10 said parties and House of Commons authorities must take any formal complaints seriously.

“Any allegations that may come to light will be taken extremely seriously and we would advise people to contact the police if there is such an allegation, so it can be fully investigated,” the spokeswoman said.

“All parties, all employers in any walk of life, must take this seriously and make sure their staff are protected or looked after. No industry is immune from this, including politics.”

Asked if she was concerned staff who are employed by an MP directly may not feel they have a channel to complain about inappropriate behaviour, May’s spokeswoman said: “Anyone working for an MP in a party can approach the party, and if it’s a serious allegation they should go to the police.”

The spokeswoman said the prime minister would consider all necessary action if a serious allegation was made about a member of the government.

“No reports have been formally made yet and we’ll address that then if that happens.”

Corbyn told an LBC Radio phone-in with the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, that people should report their allegations.

“The PM has announced that she supports, which I agree with her on, a process by which staff of any MPs from any party can and should report these matters to the Commons authorities,” he said. “Because where there is an unequal power relationship in the workplace and women became vulnerable because of it, they have to be supported and they have to be protected.

“I say this to any employer who is listening: make sure you have processes in place that any of your staff who feel they are being abused by a more powerful colleague, then you have to have a process for dealing with it.”

He stressed that Labour had a separate system whereby party members or staff working for party officials, MPs and councillors could report if they felt they had been abused in any way.

He defended the party’s response to allegations that Jared O’Mara, the MP for Sheffield Hallam, made abusive comments towards a woman and had posted sexist and homophobic remarks on the internet. O’Mara has apologised for his internet postings but strongly denied the accusations he called a woman an “ugly bitch” and made transphobic slurs against her in a nightclub.

Corbyn said an investigation had been launched into the MP and he was later suspended after the new allegations came to light.

Parliament launched a confidential hotline for staff to report incidents of harassment and bullying in 2014, after a series of complaints about Westminster’s working environment by current and former employees of MPs.

Concerns have been raised in the past over the fact that MPs employ their staff directly, in Westminster and in their constituencies. Although MPs are paid with public funds, there is no HR system for those employees to access should they be concerned about an MP’s behaviour towards them, and no grievance procedure other than approaching their party’s headquarters or whips.

Women in Westminster are believed to have been prompted to share information after allegations of sexual assault and rape against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

The allegations against the film producer prompted a viral social media #MeToo campaign, in which women from all industries and walks of life posted their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse.