THE independent inquiry into John Bercow has not only resulted in his lifetime ban from obtaining a Parliamentary pass, but has branded the egotistical former speaker a ‘serial bully and serial liar’.
The Independent Expert Panel said “his behaviour fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect” from an MP, and that he had displayed “threatening conduct” towards staff, including verbal abuse, and displays of anger.
Lord Lisvane – a senior clerk in the House of Commons – was also ruled to have been one of many victims of Bercow’s bullying, with “repeated unfounded criticism… often made at length and at volume and included derogatory inferences about [his] upbringing and background”.
They found that Bercow’s behaviour “was so serious that, had he still been a Member of Parliament, we would have determined that he should be expelled by resolution of the House”.
Mr Bercow appealed the original findings, but today the Independent Expert Panel upheld all 21 findings of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
In response, Mr Bercow, who was denied a seat in the House of Lords, rejected the ruling, calling it ‘amateurish’.
Since leaving office, diehard remainer Bercow has joined the Labour Party, which claims to have a strong stance against bullying by any member. It is, however, unclear if Labour will suspend him or (true to form) brush the matter under the rug.
