Labour "disgusted" by MP voting to protect sexual predators

Labour's candidate in Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan has said he was "disgusted" when he heard that the sitting Conservative MP, Sir Robert Syms had voted against banning MPs arrested for serious sexual or violent offences from attending Parliament.

Mr Duncan-Jordan said: "In my current job I have been negotiating for the introduction of sexual harassment policies within hospital trusts and local councils that will protect people in the workplace. Part of this is about removing the offenders, so I am lost for words and disgusted that our local MP is giving a green light to those who want to behave badly in Parliament. That's not the sort of MP that I would be."

Last week, Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner unveiled plans for a new law to protect interns from sexual harassment in the workplace. New legislation would be put in place as part of the party's New Deal for Working People if Labour wins the next general election.

At their party conference last September, Labour committed to strengthen a recently-introduced a legal duty for employers to "stop sexual harassment before it starts" by taking "all reasonable steps".

The Crime Survey of England and Wales findings that one-in-four alleged incidents of sexual harassment happen at work, with one-in-nine of those complaints from women being targeted by a colleague.

Labour's plans would make employers liable if they are made aware of an incident impacting on contracted interns and volunteers who have signed a worker agreement and failed to take action.