A disgraced MP who was suspended from parliament for sexual misconduct breaches will have his Conservative membership restored — a decision labelled by Labour as “scandalous”.
The MP for Delyn, Rob Roberts, was found by an independent panel to have made “repeated unwanted sexual advances” towards a member of staff, was forced to leave the Commons in May for six weeks.
He was also subsequently suspended from the Conservative Party for 12 weeks in August, but will have his membership reinstated on Monday, the BBC reported.
Confirming the move, a CCHQ spokesperson said: “Rob Roberts’ membership suspension concludes on Monday 1 November after serving a 12-week suspension.”
However, the spokesperson also stressed that the Conservative whip will remain suspended, meaning Mr Roberts will have to continue sitting as an independent in the Commons.
Chair of the Labour Party Anneliese Dodds described the move as “scandalous”, saying Mr Roberts “should have resigned as an MP the moment he was suspended”.
“That he is now set to return to the Conservative party shows they’ve let him off the hook,” she added. “Yet again, there’s one rule for Tory MPs and another for everyone else.”
In May, the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said Mr Roberts had “made repeated unwanted sexual advances” towards one of his employees and used “his position as his employer to place him under pressure to accede”.
“The misconduct demonstrated here was significant,” said the the chair of the IEP watchdog Stephen Irwin at the time.
“It is evident that Mr Roberts MP was in a very powerful position as an employer in relation to the reporter. Our conclusion is that the determination of six weeks suspension from the service of the House was proper and proportionate.”
Earlier this year, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, said it would have been “honourable” for Mr Roberts to have stood down after the party withdrew the whip – due to the “severity” of the case.
He argued it was “frankly ridiculous” that there are more serious sanctions for “somebody who uses a few envelopes incorrectly than for somebody who is involved in sexual misconduct”.
Labour has previously called for Mr Roberts, who returned to Parliament in the summer after his six-week suspension expired, has refused to stand down as an MP.
Following the IEP report in May, Mr Roberts said he recognised he breached the “MP-staff relationship” which was “completely improper and should not have happened”.
“I apologised at this time and do so again to the complainant but also to my colleagues, family and most importantly my constituents,” he added.
Mr Roberts has been contacted for comment.
