'Powerless' One aide tells of abuse and immense pressure

Rising numbers of MPs’ staff are experiencing clinical levels of psychological distress. But the problem runs far deeper than the recent tensions over war in the Middle East, according to one.

I've worked in Westminster for nearly three years and I can honestly say I feel safer outside the House of Commons than inside it. It might sound strange, given the renewed focus on MPs' safety in discussions around Gaza, but it's not the recent protests outside that make me fearful.

What scares me, on a daily basis, is the undercurrent of bullying, harassment and intimidation that goes on in the so-called mother of all parliaments and how we are powerless to stop it.

Sadly, it's not uncommon in Westminster to enter a bathroom and find a member of MPs' staff in tears. The job pressures are immense and growing. With each national or international crisis, the already-groaning inboxes of MPs are inundated by members of the public often polite, almost always desperate, but sometimes abusive and even threatening.

This would be a matter of concern in any normal workplace. But in parliament, where you're told: "That's just how it is here" and there's no commitment to change anything, it can be crippling.