A parliamentary body drawing up new rules to stop MPs from bullying and harassing staff has suggested that they will not apply to behaviour that dated from before the June 2017 general election, the Guardian has learned.

The steering group led by Andrea Leadsom approved a new code of conduct for MPs that will say that any complaints from parliamentary staff can only date from after the last general election.



If approved by parliament, it would mean that dozens of complaints against the speaker, John Bercow, and sitting MPs will remain outside the code of conduct’s remit. The limitation period for many civil bullying and harassment claims is six years.



Jess Phillips, the Labour MP who has met dozens of alleged victims of bullying and harassment in parliament, said the disclosure was worrying.

“I find it disappointing that you can’t go back further than last year. At the moment, staff feel that they can’t come forward. What they will hear from this ruling is that their experiences don’t matter,” she said.

The independent complaints and grievance policy programme team steering group was set up by Leadsom in February after a flurry of bullying allegations from parliamentary clerks against MPs and the Speaker.



Two former clerks – David Leakey, the former Black Rod, and his former private secretary, Angus Sinclair, – have complained about Bercow’s behaviour, while more than 12 MPs have been subjected to formal complaints.

The current Respect policy, introduced in 2011, was a formal process for dealing with complaints by staff against MPs but was deemed inadequate by unions and MPs.

Under the proposed system, complaints would trigger a confidential inquiry by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, with a tougher range of sanctions for those found to have behaved inappropriately.

At least two members of the steering group, made up of MPs, peers and union reps that met last night, had objections to time restrictions on complaints, sources said.



Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion and a member of the committee, said she was disappointed at the decision. “Rather than setting an arbitrary cut-off date, we should be allowing discretion within the new scheme,” she said.

Union representatives have claimed that the group’s independent legal advice suggests that there was no reason to put time restrictions on the code of conduct, which could be applied retrospectively.



Sources close to the steering group vigorously denied that the committee was protecting errant MPs by imposing time restrictions upon complaints.

Dave Penman, the head of the FDA, the union for senior civil servants, has written to Leadsom calling for the time restrictions to be reversed.



“We are at a loss to understand why the steering group has chosen to restrict past cases to the start of this parliament.



“The steering group are not doing everything within their power to right the wrongs of the past and are instead choosing to protect the perpetrators of bullying and harassment and not the victims,” he wrote.

The letter goes on to say that the steering group sought legal advice from a leading QC who argued that past cases could be dealt with without restrictions.



It quotes the QC’s evidence, which said: “Where procedural changes in the decision making process occur through legislation, the presumption is that they are in the interest of justice in that they will improve the quality of the decision making. Retrospective effect is therefore regarded as desirable.”

Sources close to the steering committee said the legal advice ran to over 22 pages and has been selectively quoted by the union. It is claimed that the full legal advice suggests there needs to be time frames that need to be carefully considered.



Leadsom, who chairs the cross-party steering group, said she is determined to change the culture in Westminster so all those who work and visit parliament will be treated with dignity and respect.



“The steering group is working hard to ensure we have a comprehensive set of policies to present to parliament next week and I’m very optimistic this will provide those who are wrongly treated to achieve closure,” she said.