Sunday, May 5, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-Origin MP Lisa Nandy Confronts UK PM Theresa May On Sexual Abuse 'Cover-Up'

IANS, 02 Nov, 2017 11:53 AM
    An Indian-origin MP has accused British Prime Minister Theresa May of failing to act when she was tipped about a Westminster sexual abuse cover-up three years ago.
     
    Labour Party's Lisa Nandy made the allegation in a dramatic confrontation during the Prime Minister's presence in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
     
    She claimed she brought evidence to May three years ago when the latter was Home Secretary but no action was taken, the Independent reported.
     
    "Three years ago, I brought evidence to her in this House that Whips had used information about sexual abuse to demand loyalty from MPs," Nandy told the Commons.
     
    "I brought that information to her in this House and warned her at the time that unless real action was taken, we risk repeating those injustices again.
     
    "On three occasions, I asked her to act and on three occasions she did not. So can I ask her, in this of all weeks, for the fourth time, will she finally take concrete action to tackle this?"
     
    According to Commons records, Nandy raised the issue twice in 2014 in the chamber and then in a written question.
     
    Following her question in Parliament, the Wigan MP tweeted an extract of her exchange with May on the matter, dating from July 2014.
     
     
    It revealed that Nandy had told May that in the mid-1990s, a senior long-serving ex-Whip said the whips' office "routinely helped MPs with scandals" including those "involving small boys" in a bid to exert control and prevent problems for the government.
     
    Replying to the claim, May said: "I will of course look back at the questions that she has said that she raised with me in this House."
     
    Nandy's claim came amid a deepening scandal over sexual abuse in Parliament with Westminster staffers coming forward to make allegations of harassment, misconduct, assault and rape.
     
    The Tories hit the headlines in last few weeks with Minister Mark Garnier admitting he sent his secretary to buy sex toys. May's deputy Damian Green was accused of making advances on a younger writer.
     
    Labour MP Jared O'Mara was suspended last week because of sexist remarks made online. Senior activist Bex Bailey claimed she had been raped and discouraged from reporting the incident by senior Labour officials.
     
    More claims of harassment in Parliament emerged as a spreadsheet was leaked containing a list of 36 Tory MPs, including some ministers, who had been accused of misconduct.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Virendra Sharma Tables Motion On Jallianwala Bagh, Asks Theresa May To Apologise For Massacre

    Virendra Sharma Tables Motion On Jallianwala Bagh, Asks Theresa May To Apologise For Massacre
    One of Britain’s senior-most Indian-origin MPs has tabled a parliamentary motion, calling for Prime Minister Theresa May to apologise for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar during the Raj in 1919.

    Virendra Sharma Tables Motion On Jallianwala Bagh, Asks Theresa May To Apologise For Massacre

    US Indian Embassy 'Actively Involved' in Sherin Mathews Case

    "We are deeply concerned about the missing child. Indian Embassy in US is actively involved and they keep me informed

    US Indian Embassy 'Actively Involved' in Sherin Mathews Case

    CIA Says US-Canadian Family Held Hostage In Pak For 5 Years, Contradicts Pakistan Army

    CIA Says US-Canadian Family Held Hostage In Pak For 5 Years, Contradicts Pakistan Army
    The Pakistan Army had said that the hostages were captured by terrorists from Afghanistan and kept as hostages there.

    CIA Says US-Canadian Family Held Hostage In Pak For 5 Years, Contradicts Pakistan Army

    Oxford University Students Drop Aung San Suu Kyi's Name From Her Alma Mater's Common Room

    Oxford University Students Drop Aung San Suu Kyi's Name From Her Alma Mater's Common Room
    Undergraduates at the Oxford college where Myanmars de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi studied have voted to remove her name from the title of their junior common room because of her response to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis.

    Oxford University Students Drop Aung San Suu Kyi's Name From Her Alma Mater's Common Room

    Trump Calls For Keeping America Safe From Radical Islamic Terror

    Trump Calls For Keeping America Safe From Radical Islamic Terror
    US President Donald Trump said on Friday that violence by Islamic extremists was behind an increase in criminal offences in the United Kingdom.

    Trump Calls For Keeping America Safe From Radical Islamic Terror

    Indian-Origin Security Guard Jailed For Staged Robbery In UK

    Indian-Origin Security Guard Jailed For Staged Robbery In UK
    Ranjeev Singh and fellow security guard Mohammad Siddique were jailed for conspiracy to steal at Kingston Crown Court in south-west London on Wednesday.

    Indian-Origin Security Guard Jailed For Staged Robbery In UK