One woman said she was asked to sit on a male MP's knee and she was bombarded with text messages by another person.
Ellie Varley, 25, said she believes everyone who works in Parliament has a story of sexual misconductA "predatory culture" still exists around the House of Commons, with inappropriate flirting and sexual misconduct still prevalent, staff say.
It comes after damning allegations have been made about the behaviour of MPs in recent months, with several MPs suspended. She said the MP was so persistent she felt she had no choice, and reluctantly agreed to "get him off my case". The MP is one of a number to be suspended over separate allegations.
"I [often think] am I reading too much into this? Are you just being friendly or are you touching me because you think you can?" she added. The six parliamentary staff said inappropriate touching and flirting was still a problem - with younger staff sometimes preyed upon by older MPs and staffers.Five of the people we spoke to currently work in the Commons, while one of them has recently left their role on the estate. The ex-staff member said she saw the same behaviour take place repeatedly.
In 2018, Parliament set up the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme , to investigate complaints about inappropriate behaviour, such as bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, and to provide advice to complainants.Since then, complaints are investigated by independent investigators, commissioned by the ICGS team on a case-by-case basis.
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