Bercow criticised by House of Commons as peerage row rages on
Former speaker John Bercow has been attacked by the House of Commons for naming staff members in his tell-all book of his time in the chair, which was published this morning.
A spokesperson for the House of Commons said: “Staff work incredibly hard to enable the effective functioning of our democracy and have a right to expect that their privacy be respected. It is unacceptable to publicly name current or former staff without their prior knowledge or authority, especially for the purpose of financial gain or commercial success.
“A crucial element of the work of House of Commons staff is to provide confidential, impartial advice to MPs. Breaking this confidentiality undermines this important principle and also places staff in a position from which they are unable to respond.
“Parliament’s Behaviour Code makes clear the standards of behaviour expected of everyone in Parliament, whether staff, members of the House of Lords, MPs or visitors. There is zero tolerance for abuse or harassment.
“We strongly encourage anyone who has experienced bullying or harassment in Parliament to submit a complaint via the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.”
Bercow is currently engulfed in a storm over whether he should receive a peerage for his decade as speaker. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reportedly put him forward for the honour, which is usual for the holder of that role.
However Bercow stands accused by a number of former colleagues, including the ex-Black Rod David Leaky, of bullying.
Leakey told Sky News giving the speaker a seat in the Lords would be “a scandal that parliament would struggle to live down”.
Bercow denies all claims, telling Sky News that accusations he “brutalised” parliamentary staff and politicians were “total and utter rubbish”.
A spokesman also defended his decision to name staff in the book, called Unspeakable.
“Given there is a small but highly vocal group of people consistently seeking to blacken his name, it would be odd if Mr Bercow did not comment on their unfounded allegations and the reasons behind them,” he said.
“He was advised by Speaker’s Counsel not to do so in detail while he was in office. He is therefore doing so now.
“If the book had not addressed these issues, he would rightly have been accused of serious omission. Critics are entitled to air their views. What they are not entitled to do is to make unfounded allegations and expect Mr Bercow to say nothing in return.”
But he Commons team later issued a second statement, taking issue with the claim that he was fighting back against public figures.
“In his book, Mr Bercow has chosen to name a number of staff who have never spoken publicly about their experiences or sought to gain publicity as a result,” it said. “We condemn this behaviour and stand by our previous statement on the matter.”