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LONDON — A sitting Labour MP has now registered a complaint against Geraint Davies as the party reels from allegations of misconduct against the long-serving backbencher.
Two complaints have now been formally made to the U.K. opposition party, while two other women said they are considering coming forward.
Davies was suspended from the party whip Thursday following allegations, first reported by POLITICO, that he subjected five younger female colleagues to unwanted sexual attention. The allegations were described by a party spokesperson as “incredibly serious.”
The complaints to Labour were submitted by a sixth and seventh woman after POLITICO’s investigation was published. They include a complaint from a serving Labour MP.
Davies said in a statement responding to the initial story that he did not “recognize” the allegations, adding: “If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry.”
Any complaints submitted against Davies will now form part of a Labour Party investigation into the MP’s conduct launched Thursday, a person familiar with the matter — but not authorized to speak publicly — said.
‘Uncomfortable’
Davies was first elected in Croydon Central in 1997 and has represented Swansea West since 2010, serving on the Welsh affairs and environment select committees.
Concerns about his alleged behavior appear to have been an open secret in parts of the Labour Party, although insiders have previously stressed the difficulty of taking action in the absence of a formal complaint.
Two Labour MPs, granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter but not among those previously mentioned in this article, claimed that Davies’ alleged misconduct was well-known.
One, a member of Keir Starmer’s frontbench team, said she had heard “he would behave inappropriately” and that he would “target young women in the [House of Commons] terrace when people were drinking and then he would text them.”
A Labour backbencher said “he would make you feel really uncomfortable” and “always find a reason to touch you.”
Speaking on Friday, Shadow Minister Alex Norris said he had not heard reports of Davies’ alleged behavior beforehand. “What I read yesterday was what everybody else read, and that was the first time I’d seen or heard these things,” he said.
When pressed, he told Sky News: “Colleagues will have their own views and experiences, but this was mine, and as I say, those allegations are really, really serious, it’s right they are being taken very seriously.
“Geraint’s been suspended, and it’s right that that’s investigated, and we’ll see those facts established in due course.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party treats complaints of sexual harassment and abuse with the utmost seriousness and takes action in response to every complaint.” The party has urged anyone raising informal concerns to make a formal complaint.
‘Raise questions’
The suspension of Davies has already triggered soul-searching in the party.
On Friday, Stella Creasy became the latest Labour MP to call for action, telling POLITICO the cases reported raise questions about the party’s complaints process, which is now being reviewed at the behest of Labour’s General Secretary David Evans.
Creasy told POLITICO: “The [Evans] review needs to cover not just whether complaints are investigated, but what the responsibilities of every representative of the Labour Party must be when an allegation is made, similar to safeguarding duties on many kinds of officials in other sectors.”
“We were told that Labour had now put in place a process to give people confidence to come forward. These cases raise questions about that assurance,” the Walthamstow MP said.
Jenny Symmons, chair of the GMB trade union branch representing Labour staff, said the allegations against Davies highlighted the need for “cluster reporting” — the ability to link reports of multiple complaints made by different people about the same person — in parliament’s own grievance scheme which investigates allegations against MPs.