By Tony O’Riley-
Delyn MP Rob Roberts, is under investigation for allegations he propositioned an intern.
Roberts, who was elected in the north Wales constituency of Delyn last year, sent lewd text messages to the 21-year-old woman asking her to “fool around” with him.
A complaint has been made about Mr Roberts’s behaviour to Parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme, and the MP has acknowledged the request to the staff member “was inappropriate.
In the messages, as published by the BBC, Roberts told the intern: “Don’t ignore me when I’m making you feel better,” before suggesting she might want to “fool around with no strings, you might come and visit me in London.” He told her he “might be gay but I enjoy … fun times”.
The woman had told the MP she was struggling with her mental health and was in an “awful state”, according to the messages. Roberts responded: “I was just thinking about fun times … Maybe if you thought of them too it might help you.”
Later in the exchange the MP, who has recently split from his wife and come out as gay, told the female intern that he “might be gay but I enjoy… fun times”.
The woman, who did not respond to the request, explained to the MP that she was in an “awful state” and was struggling with her mental health, to which Mr Roberts responded: “I was just thinking about fun times… Maybe if you thought of them too it might help you.”
Speaking to BBC Wales, the former intern said the exchange made her feel “incredibly sick”.
“I had had one of the worst days ever, and then I messaged him saying I’m crying, I’m not okay – and his solution to that was to proposition me,” she said.
“I felt really vulnerable and I felt like I was being used to make him feel better about everything.
The woman told BBC Wales the messages made her feel “incredibly sick”.“I had had one of the worst days ever, and then I messaged him saying: ‘I’m crying, I’m not OK’, and his solution to that was to proposition me,” she said.
An investigation into Roberts’ conduct is ongoing, a Conservative spokesperson said
“While Mr Roberts has apologised for his behaviour and has been undertaking safeguarding and social media protection training, we are clear such conduct is completely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said. It is understood Roberts had already been rebuked by the Tory party chair, after a previous incident.
However, acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, said Roberts should have the whip removed, while the investigation is carried out.
“These are incredibly serious allegations that cannot just be brushed under the carpet. Women must be able to work in politics and know that it is a safe place for them.
“The Conservative party must immediately remove the party whip while they urgently investigate, or they risk sending the message that they view this behaviour as acceptable conduct for a sitting Conservative MP.”
The Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, said: “The allegations about Rob Roberts are very concerning and should be investigated. Worryingly, these are not the first serious accusations of this nature that have been made against him in his seven months as a Tory MP.”
Propositioning
Roberts has previously admitted propositioning a different member of staff, who subsequently changed job, and admitted the request had been “inappropriate”. He was also the subject of controversy when police broke up a party at his family home during lockdown, although he insisted he was in London at the time.
Antoniazzi said: “Last week the Tory party showed they could remove the whip from an MP within hours when motivated to do so. Given the nature of the evidence against Mr Roberts, it is unclear why he still holds the Tory whip.”
A Conservative party spokesperson said: “Our party takes all allegations extremely seriously and has safeguarding and complaints processes in place to investigate complaints made to it under the party’s code of conduct.”