The focus of the Westminster sexual harassment scandal switched to Labour on Tuesday as it was claimed Party officials hushed up the rape of a young activist.

Bex Bailey, 25, said senior Labour figures told her not to report the attack by a fellow activist at a Party event six years ago because it could damage her political career.

She is one of the first women to speak out about such a serious sexual assault since reports of harassment swept through Parliament, and has been widely praised for her bravery in coming forward.

Labour immediately announced an independent investigation into the allegations that a senior staff member told her to keep quiet when she told them about the attack two years after it happened.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, the Labour Young Women group said: “Unfortunately, we fully expect this will not be an isolated incident.”