Five Tories breached conduct code in Charlie Elphicke sex case
21 July 2021, 16:15
Five Tories have breached the code of conduct by "egregiously" attempting to influence the legal proceedings of former MP Charlie Elphicke.
The Commons Standards Committee found that Natalie Elphicke, Sir Roger Gale, Adam Holloway, Bob Stewart and Theresa Villiers tried to interfere in a decision involving ex-MP Charlie Elphicke, who was convicted of sex offences.
It recommended that former environment secretary Ms Villiers, senior Conservative Sir Roger, and Ms Elphicke should be suspended from the House for one day, while all five were told to apologise.
The group of Tory MPs wrote to senior members of the judiciary about concerns they had that a more junior judge was considering publishing character references provided for Mr Elphicke.
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"The letters signed and sent by the members, in this case, were an attempt improperly to influence judicial proceedings," the committee said.
"Such egregious behaviour is corrosive to the rule of law and, if allowed to continue unchecked, could undermine public trust in the independence of judges."
Their behaviour was found to have "caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity" of the House of Commons.
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Of those recommended for suspension, Ms Elphicke and Ms Villiers had "substantial legal experience", while Sir Roger is both the longest standing of the group and "still does not accept his mistake".
All were told to apologise to both the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and to the House.
Tory peer Lord Freud has already apologised over the letter after having also been found to have breached the code of conduct.
The parliamentarians wrote to senior presiding judge Lady Justice Thirlwall and Queen's Bench Division president Dame Victoria Sharp, asking them to consider issues raised by the potential release of character references provided for Mr Elphicke.
Written on headed House of Commons notepaper, the letter was also copied to Mrs Justice Whipple, who had heard the case and was deciding whether to release the references.
Ms Elphicke, Mr Elphicke's estranged wife and his successor as Dover MP, apologised but raised concerns about the committee's ruling in a statement.
"My actions were solely motivated by my duty to represent my constituents who had raised serious concerns with me. Those who approached me about this matter were private individuals who I believe have no place in the public eye," she said.
"It is of deep concern to me that the committee did not fully recognise this.
"However, as I have already acknowledged, I do recognise that there were faults in the way I set about raising my constituents' valid concerns. I regret and apologise for that and will learn from this experience in the future exercise of my duties as an MP."
Ms Villiers' spokesman said she accepts the committee's findings and she "deeply regrets the mistake" of signing the letter.
"She has apologised sincerely for doing this. The correspondence was well-intentioned, but Ms Villiers recognises that it was wrong to raise this matter with judges when a court hearing was pending," the spokesman added.
Sir Roger declined to comment on the ruling, but he told the committee during evidence: "I would find a different way of doing it, but would I do it again - would I seek to achieve the same effect? Yes, I would."
Labour's shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: "Whether it is trying to interfere in judicial matters or sexually harassing their staff, the House of Commons Commission report today into the conduct of a gang of Conservative MPs once again shows that the government and their MPs think it is one rule for them and another for everyone else.
"This behaviour is corrosive and does nothing but undermine trust in Parliament and it must not be allowed to continue."
Mr Elphicke was jailed for two years in September last year after being convicted of three counts of assault against two women.
One of them said he had asked her about bondage and sex, then kissed her and groped her breast before chasing her around his home, chanting: "I'm a naughty Tory."
In December 2020, Mrs Justice Whipple agreed to a representation by the media to release the identities of those behind the character references.
