Conservative MPs are to be given a printed code of conduct on how they should treat their staff in the workplace in the wake of claims about sexual harassment.
The release of the code was postponed until after the end of the trial of former deputy speaker Nigel Evans, who was yesterday cleared of all offences, to avoid the possibility of prejudicing the jury.
The Conservatives said the voluntary code was “a basic statement of what should be best practice in the workplace”, and is being circulated alongside a procedure for MPs’ staff to address grievances working for parliamentarians.
The publication of this code comes in the wake of a Channel 4 News investigation, which discovered that “a third had personally experienced sexual harassment which they saw as an abuse of power”, with young men the most common targets.
The investigation concluded:
Sexual harassment is part of the culture of Westminster