New Prime Minister urged to clean up 'toxic' Westminster after fresh allegations

Sky News revealed the experiences of two women on Thursday evening, with one claiming she had been groped by a No 10 aide.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, a trade union representing civil servants and parliamentary staff, said he hopes that next prime minister will address issues of inappropriate behaviour and sexual abuse in the corridors of power.

He said that a change of leader could be an opportunity to “reset the culture and show the leadership that hasn’t been there in the past”.

“And I’m hoping that the new prime minister will be able to clean this up and deal with a toxic culture,” he said.

Jawad Raza from the FDA civil service union said: “The latest reports of alleged sexual misconduct are hard to hear, but unfortunately not surprising. They act as a stark of reminder that things still need to change.”

On Thursday, Sky News reported that one woman had been “sexually assaulted by someone who is now a Cabinet minister”.

She added: “I was in my early 20s and didn’t really know how to deal with it.

“I was super drunk, he is feeding me more wine and I am already quite obviously tanked, but after a while I was like, ‘You know what? Would you mind if I just went to bed?’ So I went to bed, but obviously he didn’t leave me alone.”

A second woman said she was working at a Conservative event when she was groped, adding: “I turned around and this guy was just looking right at me.”

She complained and raised it again when the man was due to get a top job in No 10, but “nothing happened”.

Responding to the allegations about a Cabinet minister, a Government spokesman said: “We take allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and there are robust procedures in place to raise concerns. All ministerial appointments also follow established processes.”

On allegations that a No 10 aide groped a different woman, the spokesman said: “All prospective Government employees are subject to necessary checks and vetting. We do not comment on individuals.”

A Conservative spokesman said the party has an “established code of conduct and complaints procedure where people can report complaints in confidence”.

“We take any complaint seriously,” they added.

Kevin Hollinrake, a Yorkshire Tory MP, told Sky News that he didn’t think that there was a “culture” of misconduct like this in Westminster.

He said: “But clearly in a cohort of 650 people you are going to see some poor behaviour and where that exists, and a complaint is made, it should be thoroughly investigated, and most people held to account.”

He added: “I don’t think it’s cultural in Westminster. But nevertheless, one complaint like this is one complaint too many.”