Senior Labour MP suspended from House of Commons for bullying staff member
11 May 2022, 19:29
A senior Labour MP has been suspended from the House of Commons for bullying a member of staff.
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Ex-cabinet minister Liam Byrne was found to have ostracised former staff member David Barker between March 20 and the end of July 2020.
It followed a dispute between Mr Byrne and Mr Barker at the Birmingham Hodge Hill constituency office which prompted the MP to send the complainant home.
Parliamentary commissioner for standards Kathryn Stone upheld a single allegation of bullying against Mr Byrne following a complaint made under Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill abused his position of power as well as ostracising the employee.
He ceased personal contact with him for several months and would not let him get into his Parliamentary IT account.
Mr Byrne later said he was "profoundly sorry" and had apologised.
On Wednesday evening, MPs approved a motion to suspend Mr Byrne from the Commons on Thursday and Monday May 16.
Mr Byrne's salary will also be withdrawn for two days, the motion added.
Read more: Liam Byrne: MP sorry for bullying staff member as he faces two-day Commons ban
In a statement at the time, the MP, who served as chief secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown, said: "I am extremely grateful to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and to the Independent Expert Panel for their thorough investigation and careful judgement.
He added: "Two years ago at the beginning of lockdown, following a workplace dispute that led me to send the complainant home... I did not resolve the dispute correctly with a proper disciplinary process, and having nevertheless extended the Complainant's contract, thereby failed to fulfil my obligations as an employer and Parliament's Behaviour Code.
"This constituted an ostracism which was a breach of Parliament's Behaviour Code which I strongly support, and caused distress for which I am profoundly sorry. I have apologised in full to the individual concerned."
"I'm incredibly grateful to the Panel for recognising the genuine remorse I felt about the impact on the individual concerned, the steps I have already taken to ensure this never happens again along with the work still to do, and for concluding that I did not deliberately act to delay the investigation."
