Tory MP Andrew Griffiths who sent 2000 ‘sexts’ to female constituents in 21 days cleared of wrongdoing by watchdog ‘I am not persuaded that the texts he exchanged… have caused significant damage to the reputation of the House of Commons’

A Conservative MP who sent 2,000 sexual text messages to two women has been cleared of wrongdoing by the parliamentary standards watchdog.

Andrew Griffiths, 48, resigned as small business minister July in 2018 after it emerged he had sent some 2,000 messages to a barmaid and her friend, both constituents, in which he referred to himself as “Daddy” and asked for explicit photographs. He did so over a period of 21 days.

The watchdog said it had found no evidence the Burton and Uttoxeter MP sent the messages at a time when he should have been involved with parliamentary activities. In addition, allegations he breached the House of Commons Code of Conduct were not upheld.

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Mr Griffiths was found to be in potential breach of the Conservatives’ code of conduct, but the party decided against taking action against him “given his state of mental health both now and at the time”.

He had revealed previously that he was on the verge of taking his own life following the emergence and publication of the messages, and he spent a month in hospital.

Damaged reputation

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The watchdog concluded in a resolution letter: “Mr Griffiths’ conduct has undoubtedly damaged his own reputation, as well as his health and family relationships.

“However damaging these events have been for Mr Griffths personally, I am not persuaded that the texts he exchanged with the two women have caused significant damage to the reputation of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its members generally.”

His suspension from the Conservative Party was lifted hours before he voted in favour of Theresa May as the then-Prime Minister faced a confidence vote in her leadership.

Explicit messages

Labour MP Jess Phillips read some of his messages aloud in Parliament, including: “She’s so cute. So sweet. I can’t wait to beat her,” adding: “Can she take a beating?”



She added: “Those are not my words, but the words of Andrew Griffiths while barraging two of his female constituents with thousands of sexual text messages.” The Labour MP queried why Mr Griffiths had had the Conservative whip restored “without any due process”.

Then-Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom replied: “It has been a decision by the chief whip. It is not something I have been privy to.”