A minority of men in politics “behave like animals” and are bringing Parliament into disrepute with unacceptable behaviour, according to cabinet minister Suella Braverman.
The attorney general’s comments come after an unidentified Conservative MP was accused of watching pornography in the Commons chamber, with the matter being referred to a parliamentary watchdog.
Referring to the “reprehensible” incident, Ms Braverman said she was “shocked and appalled”, telling BBC’s Woman’s Hour she was also “ashamed this person is carrying the Conservative rosette”.
Describing her own experience of political life, she said: “I’ve been a member of parliament now for nearly seven years. I’ve been in the Conservative Party and in politics for 20 years.
“My personal experience, I have to say, is that on no occasion have I been made to feel uncomfortable, and all the men that I’ve worked with have been respectful, courteous, and supportive”.
But she went on: “There is, however, a very small minority of men, and it is men, who fall short and there are some bad apples who are out of order, who behave like animals and are bringing parliament into disrepute to be honest.
“So I don’t think we should be saying there’s a pervasive culture — that’s not my experience. There are certain individuals who are behaving in an unacceptable way.”
Speaking about the allegation of a Conservative MP watching porn, Ms Braverman said she had been wondering why an individual “would be so brazen, so reckless, so stupid, so appallingly behaved to be watching porn in the workplace, in broad daylight and in the presence of colleagues.”
“What would possess them?” she asked. “It’s totally unacceptable.”
Ms Braverman said she was not aware of the identity of the MP concerned and wasn’t present at a meeting of female Tories who raised the case during a discussion with the party’s chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris on Tuesday evening.
But she welcomed the Mr Heaton-Harris’s decision to refer the claim to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) — a body that was set up in the wake of the Me Too movement.
“I hope if this is proven to be true then we will see the most severe reprimand,” she added, with the Conservative whip being remove and echoed defence secretary Ben Wallace’s earlier comment the individual should be subject to a recall petition and no longer being an MP.
Pressed on reports that 56 MPs have been referred to ICGS, including three members of the cabinet for allegations of sexual misconduct, Ms Braverman said she would not “pre-judge” investigations.
“It’s been reported there has been 56 complaints — any complaint is too high. That is a minority of the number of men in Parliament, the number of people in Parliament, a small minority I would argue,” she added.
“It’s not reflective of the consensus or the majority, so I say we do have a minority of people who are behaving in an unacceptable way.”
