MP who sexually harassed staffer to have his Conservative membership restored

An MP who an independent panel concluded sexually harassed a member of his staff is set to have his Conservative party membership restored on Monday.

Rob Roberts will remain an independent MP however, as the Conservative whip will remain suspended.

Because he was suspended by an independent panel, his constituents had no recourse to a recall petition which could trigger a by-election.

MPs have since voted to close this loophole, and those suspended for bullying or sexual harassment can face a petition.

However, a Labour party proposal to retrospectively apply the rule changes was rejected by MPs. 

Roberts was elected as ‌the‌ Conservative MP‌ ‌for‌ Delyn‌ ‌in 2019‌.

In May 2021 Roberts had the Conservative Party whip removed after a complaints panel (the Independent Expert Panel) found that he had breached Parliament’s sexual misconduct policy.  

The panel recommended that he be suspended from the Commons for six weeks.

He also began a 12-week suspension from the Conservative party on 9 August.