‘They’ve let him off the hook’: Fury as sex pest MP Rob Roberts is allowed back into the Conservative Party after being suspended for sexually harassing a member of staff
- The Delyn MP was readmitted after serving a 12-week suspension, party said
- Watchdog in May ruled he made repeated and unwanted advances to a man
- Will continue to sit as an independent as Tories are still withholding party whip
The Conservatives were facing fury today after a sex pest former Tory MP was allowed to rejoin the party weeks after being found to have sexually harassed a member of staff.
Rob Roberts was readmitted after serving a 12-week membership suspension imposed after he was found to have made repeated and unwanted advances to a man.
But the decision to let him the Welsh MP back in the party fold was slammed by critics who said it would ‘let him off the hook’ for his actions’ amid calls for him to be thrown out of the Commons.
The MP for Delyn in North Wales will continue to sit as an independent as the Tories are still withholding the party whip.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the move was a ‘disgrace’, adding: ‘Rob Roberts has no place in Parliament, politics or public life.’
Rob Roberts was readmitted after serving a 12-week suspension imposed after he was found to have made repeated and unwanted advances to a man.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the move was a ‘disgrace’, adding: ‘Rob Roberts has no place in Parliament, politics or public life.’
Roberts, 41, is facing efforts to remove him as the MP for Delyn in Wales after Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel found he acted inappropriately towards a man working in his office.
The former staff member who made the complaint in June last year told BBC Wales that the MP had repeatedly propositioned him, leaving him feeling ‘uncomfortable’, ‘shocked’ and ‘horrified’.
Mr Roberts, who only became an MP in 2019, apologised for the ‘completely improper’ behaviour but insisted his actions were ‘romantic’ rather than sexual.
The Commons approved a motion to suspend Mr Roberts from the House for six weeks in May, in line with the recommendation from the independent panel.
But the Conservatives suspended him from the party for twice that duration, while senior figures including Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg urged Mr Roberts to do the ‘honourable’ thing and stand down as an MP.
The Recall of Parliament Act, passed in 2015, allows the prospect of a by-election for sanctions imposed on the recommendation of the Commons Committee on Standards.
The petitions allow for a by-election to be held in an MP’s seat if enough local people vote in favour of one. They have previously been used against MPs guilty of misconduct and criminal behavour.
But in an unforseen loophole, because Mr Roberts appealed the standards commissioner’s ruling to an an Independent Expert Panel – which upheld the finding – he is not illegible to face a recall petition.
The party confirmed this morning that Mr Roberts was a Tory party member again, with a spokeswoman saying: ‘Rob Roberts’ membership suspension concluded on Monday November 1 after serving a 12-week suspension. The whip will remain suspended.’
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds described the scheduled end of Mr Roberts’ suspension as ‘scandalous’.
‘Rob 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.
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