The chair of the women and equalities committee said the situation in Westminster is “horrific”, highlighting a “really laddish culture” in which the “banter” defence is used.
Ms Nokes said there are some MPs she would not get in a lift with, adding that female colleagues share names of “who to trust, who not to trust and who we think is a little bit creepy”. She told the BBC’s Newsnight: “I can think of an incident where a member of the House of Lords, in a restaurant, said hello to me, walked past, turned around, came back and stroked my bare arm in the presence of a journalist.
“I can think of other incidents where a Labour MP patted me on the backside and told me that I’ve done well to lose weight. Now he, in that instance, looked about as shocked as I did, and clearly instantly regretted what he’d done. But other incidents, where colleagues have put their hands on my thigh and told me at great length how their wives don’t understand them... it’s just horrific.”
Asked how many “inappropriate, weird or creepy” incidents she had been subjected to since being elected in 2010, Ms Nokes said: “Numerous... in the region of 50.” Highlighting the behaviour she has suffered, Ms Nokes called on Rishi Sunak to send a signal that he backs tougher measures to tackle the socalled Pestminster problem.
This story is from the July 08, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the July 08, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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