London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

John Bercow’s protests over bullying verdicts have ‘not a shred of credibility’

John Bercow’s protests over bullying verdicts have ‘not a shred of credibility’

Complainant Lord Lisvane says refusal to accept verdict is ‘hysterical petulance from someone caught bang to rights’
Lord Lisvane, one of three complainants in the successful bullying claim against John Bercow, has said the former Speaker’s protests against the verdict have “not a shred of credibility”, as he praised the system that allowed a historical case to be brought.

Lisvane, a former clerk of the House of Commons, criticised Bercow’s “farcical” refusal to accept the verdict of the panel, calling it “hysterical petulance from someone caught bang to rights”.

He also backed the system that allowed historical complaints against Bercow to be investigated, exposing a pattern of serial bullying over a long period of time.

He said the process had been “forensically exacting” and the complainants came forward when they did because it was a “credible impartial process” that was extended in 2019 to cover historical complaints.

Parliament is moving to impose a one-year time limit on complaints against MPs and their staff under the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which will come into force on 28 April.

Under the new rules, there could not have been an investigation into Bercow, who was found by the independent expert panel to have been a “serial bully” and to be a “serial liar” in his dealings with the investigation.

In an excoriating verdict on Bercow’s conduct during a decade as Speaker, the independent panel found his behaviour “fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect from any member of parliament”. It upheld 21 out of 35 complaints against him by former staff.

Lisvane, a crossbench peer, said he had experienced “an overwhelming sense of relief” after the verdict, because the inquiry took more than two years. Bercow was found to have repeatedly ranted at Lisvane, making “unfounded criticism”.

Bercow has said the process was unfair, describing it as “feeble conclusions reached [that] would be torn to shreds in any judicial process”. He told Channel 4: “I deny the allegations that have been levelled at me in the course of a protracted, unjust, and amateurish process. It’s been a kangaroo court and saying it’s a kangaroo court is extremely insulting to kangaroos.”

But Lisvane said Bercow’s protests against the verdict “had absolutely no foundation in truth”, in particular the idea that the complainants were standing in the way of reforms when he had personally “spent my entire career trying to make parliament better understood” and was supportive of diversity.

“When somebody is caught bang to rights, as has happened in this case, you get a lot of whining and whingeing about how it isn’t fair, they didn’t do it and it’s all a stitch-up and so on,” he said. “The fact is that the panel also regard him as a serial liar and somebody who attempted to defeat the complaints by false accusations of collusion and by advancing lies, quite simply deliberate lies, in a vain attempt to excuse the inexcusable. His shouting foul doesn’t carry a shred of credibility.”

Lisvane also highlighted the report’s statement that Bercow mimicked the complainants in an interview with the investigator. “It is extraordinary. He is a very good mimic. Once it may be funny, but if it is repeated with the aim of humiliation then it is not funny,” he added.

Two complainants whose complaints were upheld were the former staffers Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms.

Lisvane’s comments come after Lt Gen David Leakey, a former Black Rod, said Bercow should be barred from holding public office or positions of leadership.

Leakey, who made one of the complaints against Bercow and acted as a witness to others, said he had been determined to ensure Bercow’s record was examined fully.

Leakey said no public institution should give Bercow a position while he refused to show contrition for his behaviour.

Leakey’s own complaint against Bercow was not upheld, and he conceded there were no third-party witnesses, but he gave detailed witness testimony to the inquiry of the former Speaker’s bullying of other staff.

Bercow, who joined the Labour party after leaving parliament, was reported to be considering a run for London mayor after Sadiq Khan’s term is over. Labour has since suspended him from the party. He is a professor of politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and until last year was the chancellor of the University of Essex. A spokesperson for Bercow said on Tuesday he had “never sought or wanted” to be London mayor.

The independent panel that examined the findings of parliament’s standards commissioner concluded that at least 21 complaints against him could be upheld. It banned him from holding a parliamentary pass and said he could have been expelled from the Commons if still an MP.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×