Ex-Tory MP David Warburton wins appeal against ruling that he sexually harassed an aide – two weeks after quitting the Commons and handing Rishi Sunak a by-election headache in his Somerset seat
- He quit as MP for Somerton and Frome with a swipe at the case handling
- Warburton admitted taking cocaine but denied harassing a female assistant
A former Tory MP has won an appeal against a ruling he sexually harassed one of his Commons aides – two weeks after he quit the Commons.
David Warburton resigned as MP for Somerton and Frome last month with a swipe at the way the case against him was handled.
He had admitted to taking cocaine after drinking ‘tons of incredibly potent’ Japanese whiskey, but denied claims he harassed a female political assistant in his Westminster flat.
But today the Commons’ Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said it had upheld his appeal against the findings and ordered his case be reinvestigated after criticising the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards who oversaw it. Commissioner Daniel Greenberg found him guilty of three sexual misconduct allegations, instead of the two upheld by the initial inquiry.
In an unusual step the committee revealed it took its decision several days before Mr Warburton resigned, but followed convention by not announcing its findings for several weeks.
It means that he could have continued as an MP at least until the outcome of the new investigation is revealed.
The Conservatives are widely expected to lose the by-election on July 20 in a seat that was held by the Liberal Democrats until 2015.
David Warburton resigned as MP for Somerton and Frome last month with a swipe at the way the case against him was handled.
In one of three by-election headaches for Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives are widely expected to lose the vote on July 20 in a seat that was held by the Liberal Democrats until 2015
When he announced his exit from Parliament in June, Mr Warburton hit out at the ICGS investigation, claiming he had been denied a fair hearing.
In his resignation letter he said had been left with ‘no choice’ but to provoke ‘the upheaval of a by-election’, adding: ‘It is my hope that, in so doing, I can freely illuminate the methods of an oversight system not fit for purpose, so that friends and colleagues in the House can see the perverted process by which their own judgment may at any time be freighted.’
The IEP today ordered a fresh inquiry as it criticised the ‘materially flawed’ original probe.
It came after a staffer in Mr Warburton’s Westminster office lodged a complaint with the ICGS in March 2022, making four sexual misconduct and two bullying and harassment allegations against him.
In a report, the panel said the initial investigation under Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) recommended upholding two sexual misconduct allegations.
However, Mr Greenberg then reviewed the evidence and found Mr Warburton guilty of a third, unspecified sexual misconduct charge.
Mr Warburton appealed against Mr Greenberg’s decision on the grounds it was ‘procedurally flawed and unreasonable’ and based on a ‘materially flawed’ investigation.
He said the woman ‘had colluded with witnesses to fabricate’ the ‘malicious’ complaint against him, and that the ICGS failed to consider material he submitted to support his claim, according to the IEP’s report.
The panel said it made no findings on the allegations against Mr Warburton or his claims of fabrication, but ruled that a reinvestigation is ‘necessary and proportionate’.
Mr Warburton has been contacted for comment.
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