John Bercow dismisses bullying accusations as 'total and utter rubbish'

Bronwen Weatherby4 February 2020
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John Bercow has dismissed the accusations of bullying against him, claiming they are "total and utter rubbish" and "100 per cent wrong".

The controversial former speaker of the House of Commons has been at the centre of controversy since the claims of bullying were made against him.

Ex-MP David Leakey, who served as Black Rod until 2018, accused Mr Bercow of “intolerable rudeness and explosive behaviour” and "brutalising" parliamentary staff, adding: "I include myself in that".

Mr ​Bercow hit back at the allegations in his latest interview with Sky News on Tuesday.

He told the broadcaster: “Total and utter rubbish – from start to finish…

“First point is that David Leakey didn’t work for me, he wasn’t employed by me, he wasn’t an employee of the House of Commons.

“He worked in and was the protocol officer of the House of Lords. He is in absolutely no position whatsoever to comment on my relations with my parliamentary colleagues, of which he is completely and utterly ignorant.

“He doesn’t know what my relations were with my clerks. He has absolutely no intelligence on those matters whatsoever.

“What we have got here is somebody who left the House, who is thrashing about, desperate to remain relevant, popping up at every turn, trying to make himself seem very important, very centre stage, very at the heart of things in the way that I went about my work.”

Responding to comments made by Lieutenant General Leakey about his relationship with Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom, Mr ​Bercow said: "He's turning up years later commenting on matters he couldn't possibly know about because he had left.

"The guy is a no-nothing, he hasn't the foggiest idea what he's talking about."

Allegations surfaced in 2018 of Mr Bercow bullying two former private secretaries, Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms. Mr Sinclair accused the speaker of “over-the-top anger”, shouting, swearing and intimidation.

In January, Lord Lisvane, who served as Clerk of the House between 2011 and 2014, submitted a formal complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standard.

It was closely followed by a separate formal complaint of bullying which was filed by Lieutenant General Leakey.

Lt Gen Leakey was among those who made allegations at the time and called for Mr Bercow to consider his position.

David Leakey, former Black Rod, one of Mr Bercow's accusers
PA

During the explosive interview, Mr ​Bercow also called former Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom "untrustworthy" and a "poor leader of the house".

He said: "There was no trust between us and I was advised at one point by senior advisor in government that she was very hospital and she was looking to ferment trouble for me.

He spoke again about taking an independent witness with him to any meetings he had with Ms Leadsom.

As is usually customary, Mr Bercow was expected to receive a peerage following his term as Speaker however, the claims against him have delayed his ascent to the House of Lords.

The full interview with Dermot Murnagham was shown on the channel at 7pm on Tuesday.

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