Labour MP Jess Phillips quotes Andrew Griffiths sex texts in Commons as she questions his whip being reinstated

Jacob Jarvis13 December 2018
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A Labour MP outraged at the whip reinstated for a Conservative who sent a string of sexual texts to a barmaid read out some of the messages in the Commons today.

On Thursday Jess Phillips read a line sent by Andrew Griffiths, who had the whip reinstated on Wednesday so he could vote in the no confidence ballot in the Prime Minister.

He had resigned a ministerial post and then had the whip removed from him in July after his illicit correspondence was exposed.

Ms Phillips, of Birmingham Yardley, quoted: “'She’s so cute, so sweet, I can’t wait to beat her. Can she take a beating?’

“Not my words Mr Speaker, the words of the MP for Burton, while barraging two of his female constituents with thousands of sexual text messages.”

Whip reinstated: Andrew Griffiths MP (Photo: Parliament)

Following this, she posed two questions for leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom.

She said: “Last night, the Leader of the House’s party, gave him and the MP for Dover the whip back without any due process.

“What message does this send about how any process here in this place can ever be trusted?”

Ms Phillips asked Andrea Leadsom about the decision
REUTERS

She then asked: "What matters more political power or protecting victims of sexual harassment and abuse”

Ms Leadsom, who had addressed the Commons with a business statement, responded that there had been a process – though she had not been “privy” to it.

She responded: “Well what I want to say to the honourable lady is she will know that I am absolutely committed to changing the culture of this place and to seeing that everybody here is treated with dignity and respect.

“There has been a process that has been undertaken, it has been a decision by the chief whip it’s not something that I have been privy to but I absolutely assure all honourable and right honourable members that in establishing the independent complaints procedure which is not involved with any party political processes whatsoever

“That is designed to enable everybody who works or visits this place to be able to take any complaints that they have to an independent place for proper investigation and proper sanction to be applied.”

Britain's Conservative Party Chief Whip Julian Smith
AFP/Getty Images

Married father Mr Griffiths, 48, sent 2,000 sexual texts to barmaid Imogen Treharne and a friend in just 21 days, weeks after the birth of his first child.

At the time of leaving his ministerial role, Mr Griffiths said: "I am deeply ashamed at my behaviour which has caused untold distress to my wife and family, to whom I owe everything, and deep embarrassment to the Prime Minister and the Government I am so proud to serve.”

The news he had his whip restored, just hours ahead of the no confidence vote on Wednesday in which he said he would back Theresa May caused outrage at the time.

Dawn Butler, wrote on Twitter: “How can Theresa May call herself a feminist when she lets an MP who was suspended for sexual harassment back into the Conservative Party to vote for her in the leadership challenge? This is a betrayal of women.”

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