Gay Tory MP Accused Of Asking Intern To “Fool Around”
Delyn MP Rob Roberts, has been accused of sending text messages to a 21-year-old intern asking her to “fool around” with him.
In the messages, Roberts told the intern: “Don’t ignore me when I’m making you feel better,” before suggesting she might want to “fool around with no strings, you might come and visit me in London.” He told her he “might be gay but I enjoy … fun times”.
The woman had told the MP she was struggling with her mental health and was in an “awful state”, according to the messages. Roberts responded: “I was just thinking about fun times … Maybe if you thought of them too it might help you.”
The woman said the messages made her feel “incredibly sick”.
“I had had one of the worst days ever, and then I messaged him saying: ‘I’m crying, I’m not OK’, and his solution to that was to proposition me,” she said.
A Conservative party spokesperson said there was an “ongoing” investigation into Roberts’ conduct.
“While Mr Roberts has apologised for his behaviour and has been undertaking safeguarding and social media protection training, we are clear such conduct is completely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.
As ‘The Guardian’ reports, Roberts had already been rebuked by the Tory party chair, after a previous incident.
However, acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, stated:
“These are incredibly serious allegations that cannot just be brushed under the carpet. Women must be able to work in politics and know that it is a safe place for them.
“The Conservative party must immediately remove the party whip while they urgently investigate, or they risk sending the message that they view this behaviour as acceptable conduct for a sitting Conservative MP.”
The Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, said: “The allegations about Rob Roberts are very concerning and should be investigated. Worryingly, these are not the first serious accusations of this nature that have been made against him in his seven months as a Tory MP.”
In the past, Roberts has admitted propositioning a different member of staff, who subsequently changed job, and admitted the request had been “inappropriate”.
Antoniazzi said: “Last week the Tory party showed they could remove the whip from an MP within hours when motivated to do so. Given the nature of the evidence against Mr Roberts, it is unclear why he still holds the Tory whip.”
A Conservative party spokesperson said: “Our party takes all allegations extremely seriously and has safeguarding and complaints processes in place to investigate complaints made to it under the party’s code of conduct.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
Conservative MP Rob Roberts Comes Out
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran Comes Out As Pansexual
Labour MP Roger Godsiff Sides With Anti-LGBT+ Birmingham Protestors: “You’re Right on This One”
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