Labour MP Rupa Huq says she was sexually harassed by an MEP

Agnes Chambre

A Labour MP has said she was sexually harassed by a male MEP at the European Parliament when she was in her 20s.



Ealing and Acton MP Rupa Huq said she was “shocked” by the incident, which occurred the 1990s, but did not report it because of the “imbalanced power relation”.

Ms Huq told Sky News earlier that the MEP’s “wandering hands found their way onto me, which I did not like and I did not do anything about because it was such an imbalanced power relation."

She added: "It shocked me when I felt these hands slithering towards me and I think I was quite startled more than anything else, and I can't believe I'm the only person he did that to to be honest."

Her comments come after it was reported that a list of 36 names has been drawn up by Conservative aides of MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The Prime Minister has called for a binding code of conduct for MPs after international trade minister Mark Garnier admitted asking a former aide to buy sex toys while he waited outside.

A Downing Street spokesman said earlier she was waiting for the outcome of a Cabinet Office probe into whether Mr Garnier had broken the ministerial code before passing judgement on whether she retains confidence in him.

A number of senior female politicians, including Baroness Jenkin, Theresa Villiers, Mary Creagh and Maria Miller, have recently spoken out about experiencing sexual harassment.

Labour MP Dawn Butler has called for former minister Stephen Crabb, who admitted sending sexually explicit messages to a 19-year-old and Mr Garnier to have the whip withdrawn.

Ms Butler wrote in an open letter to Mrs May: “Can you explain why the investigation into Mark Garnier appears to be confined to whether he broke the ministerial code at a time when he wasn’t a minister?

"Further, can you confirm that both he, and Stephen Crabb, will be investigated by the Conservative party and have the whip suspended while investigations into their conduct take place?"

Commons leader Andrea Leadsom will update MPs on the brewing scandal in the wake of Mrs May's letter to Speaker John Bercow, calling for tougher measures to protect parliamentary staff.

She said the current disciplinary procedure from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority "does not have the required teeth" because MPs are not obliged to follow it.