I'm totally disillusioned with Labour, says woman 'harassed by MP Kelvin Hopkins'

Ava Etemadzadeh claims MP Kelvin Hopkins rubbed himself up against her and sent inappropriate text messages
Kate Proctor13 March 2018

A woman who claims she was sexually harassed by a Labour MP today said she was “totally disillusioned” with the party and did not know when her case would be held.

Ava Etemadzadeh, 27, a Labour activist, said four months had passed since she complained that Kelvin Hopkins, 76, had rubbed himself up against her and sent inappropriate text messages.

She said: “I made a complaint in early November and it’s been months and I am so disillusioned, because it appears that the Tory party has been dealing with sexual harassment cases better than the Labour party.

“Theresa May even sacked one of her closest allies,” said Ms Etemadzadeh, referring to the Prime Minister’s removal of First Secretary of State Damian Green after his misleading statements about pornography found on his computer.

Mr Hopkins, MP for Luton North, is alleged to have messaged Ms Etemadzadeh to say she was “a lovely young woman,” adding that a “nice young man would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend and lover… were I to be young”.

Investigation: Kelvin Hopkins, representative for Luton North, is facing allegations
PA Archive/PA Images

He is said to have rubbed his crotch against her during a hug at the end of a university event she had organised when she was 24. Mr Hopkins denies all the allegations made against him.

The MP has been suspended and his case referred to the National Constitutional Committee (NCC). He could be expelled from Labour if found guilty of misconduct.

But Ms Etemadzadeh, a student in London, said: “I still haven’t heard from the Labour party about my NCC hearing.”

She said she will use a pro bono lawyer to represent her in the case and despite being a Labour member has been offered no legal support.

Mr Hopkins has said: “This issue needs to be dealt with by due process and I am happy to go to the NCC to clear my name.”

Labour said: “All complainants are kept fully updated with developments in their case. Labour takes all such cases extremely seriously and ensures proper process is followed in investigating them and taking necessary action.”

Several Labour MPs face allegations. Karl Turner, MP for Kingston upon Hull East, has been accused of slapping a woman on her bottom in his office in 2015. He denies behaving inappropriately.

Debbie Abrahams has been suspended as shadow pensions secretary after being accused of bullying staff. The MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth disputed this and said she had been the victim of “aggressive” behaviour by individuals in Jeremy Corbyn’s office.

Ivan Lewis, MP for Bury South, has been suspended for alleged sexual harassment and Jared O’Mara, MP for Sheffield Hallam, has been suspended for allegedly making abusive comments about women. Both deny the claims.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in