Responding to a BBC Newsnight report that a “predatory culture” still exists around the House of Commons, FDA National Officer Jawad Raza called for those in leadership positions across the political spectrum to “take responsibility to drive that wider culture change”.

The investigation spoke with six members of staff, who told BBC Newsnight that abuses of power by male MPs and senior staffers remained common. They also raised concerns that that the new complaints process – the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) – was too slow.

In response to the reports, FDA National Officer Jawad Raza said: “The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) investigates complex and very sensitive issues, often in an extremely challenging environment, and has carried out some really good work since it was established.
 
“Of course, as with every complaints process, we must continually evaluate its effectiveness and recognise how it can be improved. This is why after the establishment of the IGCS in 2018, the FDA continued to campaign for the introduction of the Independent Expert Panel, which would completely remove MPs from the process.
 
“The establishment of the Independent Expert Panel as part of the ICGS in 2020 was a massive leap forward, finally providing an independent process, free from political interference, to address bullying and harassment across Parliament.
 
“It has made a difference to the culture within Parliament but changing an entire parliamentary culture cannot just rely on the ICGS alone. Those in leadership positions across the political spectrum must take responsibility to drive that wider culture change.”

FDA General Secretary Dave Penman echoed this call for political leaders to take action in a live appearance on BBC Newsnight.

“Every MP that you ask will say, absolutely, we should be role models,” Penman said. “The organisations that bring those MPs into Parliament are the ones that actually have power to deal with this and until they are serious about dealing with this issue, taking people’s Party membership off them, addressing issues of the complaints, the informal complaints that have been made and the information they’ve got, until that is acted upon by the parties, none of this will change.”

Raza also called for the proposals of the House of Commons Commission on risk-based exclusion to be implemented immediately, which would “allow MPs to be excluded from the Parliamentary estate if facing credible allegations of sexual or violent offending”.

“The BBC’s report should make uncomfortable reading for the House Authorities and political leaders in Parliament,” Raza added. “We urge them to take these staff members’ experiences seriously – it takes huge courage to come forward like this publicly. Parliament should be a safe environment for everyone who works there and leadership in the House must show that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.”