This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A senior Labour MP has denied pulling the hair of her colleague so hard that clumps came out.



Carolyn Harris, the MP for Swansea East and shadow minister for women and equalities, also denied outing her gay former senior aide, Jenny Lee Clarke.

She said could not remember pointing out Clarke’s “dyke boots” but if she had it would have been “banter”

Harris, who is the deputy Labour leader in Wales, was giving evidence at Cardiff crown court where Clarke is accused of forging the MP’s signature and fraudulently giving herself a £2,000 pay rise while reducing her weekly hours.

The MP has insisted she did not approve the annual pay increase from £37,000 to £39,000 and had no knowledge of an email purportedly from her confirming the change.

Jurors heard that Clarke was hired by Harris the day after her election to the Swansea East seat in May 2015.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jenny Lee Clarke arrives at Cardiff crown court on Tuesday. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Stephen Donnelly, representing Clarke, accused Harris of assaulting his client by pulling her hair so hard that clumps came out in November 2014.

“That’s totally untrue,” Harris replied.

Donnelly: “You shook her so violently that you pulled clumps of hair out.”

Harris: “That is definitely not true.”

Donnelly suggested that Harris wrote a letter to Clarke promising her a full-time position if she was elected an MP and claimed this was to “hush her up.” Harris denied that she needed to hush Clarke up and said she had not gone down on her knees to apologise to her.

The defence barrister accused Harris of “outing” Clarke to colleagues when she had confided that she was gay.

Clarke told Harris that she was gay in 2011, the court heard. Donnelly asked: “You asked what she and her partner would do intimately?” Harris replied: “That’s not correct.”

Harris denied claims that Clarke had asked her to stop asking such questions and said she had not needed to “out” her as “it was quite obvious[Clarke was gay]”.

The MP said there was “office banter” and both women would criticise each other’s dress sense.

“Was it office banter when you said, ‘Look at your dyke boots’?” Donnelly asked. Harris replied: “I don’t remember saying that but if I did it would have been banter. It’s a term for lesbian. Jenny Clarke is. I’m certainly not homophobic. I’m an ally of the LGBT community and I have always been.”

Harris described a “lovely atmosphere” in the office and said staff would laugh together and talk about “anything and everything”.

She said: “We would all have physical contact in terms of touching but not violent contact – not at all.”

The trial continues.