London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

John Bercow says he's 'never bullied anyone, anywhere at any time'

John Bercow says he was ‘astonished and staggered’ by claims he had bullied his staff.

The former Speaker of the House of Commons accepts he unashamedly pushed for what he believed in, but denies overstepping the mark by mistreating colleagues.

Speaking this evening on BBC’s The One Show, he said: ‘I have never bullied anyone, anywhere at any time in any way.

‘I’m passionate I thought I had a mandate to deliver change in the running of the chamber and the management of parliament and how we communicated with the country.

‘Now and again there were people who were less than cooperative, resisted change, tried to find ways around it or to thwart what I thought was not just my will by the will of most people in the house.

‘So of course I pressed for what I wanted, but pressing for what you want and pursuing an agenda for which you feel you’ve got a democratic mandate doesn’t in any sense amount to bullying.’

In his new autobiography, named ‘Unspeakable’, Bercow does not mince his words about former colleagues.

He described former Tory leader and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague as a ‘buttoned up, cold fish, mechanical, ex-teenage nerd.’

Bercow said David Cameron was ‘born with a silver trolley service in his mouth’ and called Theresa May ‘dull as dishwater’ and ‘as wooden as your average coffee table’.

When asked by BBC presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones about the remarks, the ex-speaker said: ‘I don’t think it was a bit much at all, I was very candid in my portraits of all of those people.

‘In respect of Theresa May I did say that and I stand by it and I think it’s true and I thought people like the idea of politicians saying what they think not what they don’t think.

‘I did also say that she’s very public spirited and extremely hard working and dedicated to the national interest even if she doesn’t have a particularly clear view of what that is.

‘I’m not saying she’s a bad person, I think she’s a committed, hard working public spirited person. But I didn’t think that she was a successful prime minister.’

Tonight’s interview comes after a formal complaint was lodged by the Bercow’s former top aide Flord Lisvane, who handed a dossier of allegations to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The documents are believed to accuse the ex-speaker of humiliating staff and using inappropriate language.

But Bercow has denied the allegations and said they have come at a ‘curious’ time, following suggestions he could have been in line for a peerage.

Some MPs including Labour’s Dawn Butler have even suggested denying the former speaker a peerage – as is tradition – is a form of bullying itself.

Complaints about Bercow’s behaviour were made in 2018 by his former private secretary Angus Sinclair.

He claimed he swore and shouted at him, and once even smashed a mobile phone in front of him – which Bercow denies.

Defending his record on this evening’s show, he said: ‘A number of somewhat upper crust, very posh, quite self important and entitled people who felt that the natural order of things was that they should not just have their say, but have their way, didn’t like it when I dared to say “no it may have been done that way before but we’re going to do it differently now”.’

He accepted that he had ‘made mistakes’ along the road, but said he was proud of ‘revitalising the chamber’ and getting more young people engaged in politics through his support of the UK Youth Parliament.

Bercow added: ‘None of us is without flaw, we all make mistakes, to err is human.

‘Could I have done better? No doubt. But am I basically proud of doing the best that I could do and being the best that I could be? No doubt.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×