Rob Roberts: Jacob Rees-Mogg calls on MP to stand down

Rob Roberts had sexually harassed a member of his staff, a panel found

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has increased the pressure on Conservative MP Rob Roberts to resign.

He said it would be "honourable" for the Delyn MP to stand down after an investigation found he sexually harassed an employee.

MPs backed the report's recommendation for him to be suspended for six weeks.

Parliamentary rules mean the ruling does not trigger a recall petition which can force a by-election, as it can do in other cases.

The former employee told BBC Wales Mr Roberts repeatedly propositioned him and asked him to be "less alluring".

• MP Rob Roberts told staffer to be 'less alluring'

• MPs could face recall for sexual misconduct

Mr Rees-Mogg was addressing MPs on Thursday shortly before Parliament supported Mr Roberts's suspension, without a formal vote.

He said he was concerned about the "discrepancy" and he wanted to deal with it "in the most straight forward way possible".

The Commons leader said: "Following a case of this severity, in which it would be honourable for a member to stand down after the withdrawal of the whip, we need to look at whether the process is striking the right balance between independence, protecting the confidentiality of complainants, and ensuring consistent outcomes across different types of conduct case."

'Frankly ridiculous'

Mr Rees-Mogg has asked the chairman of the independent panel that investigated Mr Roberts to make recommendations.

He said he did not agree with those who said that Parliament's rules contained a loophole, saying they were designed to keep the names of staff anonymous when they complained about sexual misconduct by MPs.

But he said they were not "proportionate", saying it was "frankly ridiculous" that MPs who misuse envelopes could face more serious sanctions than those guilty of sexual harassment.

For Labour, shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said she had written to Mr Rees-Mogg to offer to work with him to "close the loophole urgently and seek solutions".

"In what other job could someone who has carried out sexual misconduct not face losing that job?," she asked.

"There are workable solutions to what would be a stain on us all if the public sees someone who has carried out sexual misconduct keep their job in this place."

She said that "ideally the member would do the honourable thing and resign forthwith", adding: "Process should not be a shield for unacceptable behaviour.

"If the member does not resign, he should be subject to recall and if he is not, we run the risk of appearing as if this House does not take sexual misconduct seriously, which of course we do."

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford also called on Mr Roberts to stand down, saying people in Delyn should be allowed to decide who represents them in a by-election.

"The nature of the allegations that have been confirmed against him and the severity of the penalty that has been proposed [means] the only decent thing to do is to resign and let the people of Delyn make their choice," he said.

'Totally dumbfounded'

Myles Power, former chairman of the Delyn Conservative Association, told BBC Wales he would "much rather have an honourable Labour Member of Parliament" than Mr Roberts.

He said he was "incredibly disappointed and totally dumbfounded that he thinks that he could possibly continue to serve as the Member of Parliament".

Mr Power resigned as constituency chairman last October because of the MP's behaviour and what he saw as the party's failure to deal with the matter.

Delyn was one of the so-called "red wall" of Labour seats in north Wales the Tories won at the 2019 General Election

"This is an incredibly serious accusation that's been made against him, which has been found and upheld," Mr Power said.

"I can't see how he could possibly hold his head up high, to represent people."

Mr Power said he was worried that Mr Roberts would "hang on by the skin of his teeth up until the next Parliamentary elections, and the people of Delyn are not even going to be properly represented".

'Complete disjointedness'

Meanwhile a former Conservative MP who lost his seat after admitting a false expenses claim says it is "bizarre" parliamentary rules allow Mr Roberts to remain as an MP.

Chris Davies was unseated in Brecon and Radnorshire in 2019 because his specific court conviction triggered a recall petition.

He said the Delyn MP "should look at himself in the mirror and make his own judgement", but added: "I don't think he should be in that position.

"I think Parliament should have a standard set of procedures in place right across the board rather than seeing this complete disjointedness. It's a very bizarre system."

Mr Roberts has been asked to comment.