London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

MP Liam Byrne to be suspended from Commons for bullying former employee

MP Liam Byrne to be suspended from Commons for bullying former employee

Labour MP Liam Byrne has been found to have bullied a former member of staff and will be suspended from the Commons for two days.

The ex-Cabinet minister and MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill ostracised a former assistant after a minor office dispute, an investigation found.

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone said his behaviour was a "significant misuse of power".

Mr Byrne said he had apologised and was "profoundly sorry".

A number of other allegations relating to unreasonable behaviour by Mr Byrne and pressure to work excessive hours were not upheld, the report found.

The investigation was started almost two years ago after complaints were made by the MP's former assistant David Barker to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).

The recently-appointed body rules on bullying and sexual harassment complaints in the Commons and has now published its findings.

Mr Barker, a Labour party member who runs the food bank Baby Aid Birmingham, began working for Mr Byrne on a series of short-term contracts in April 2019, but lodged a complaint about him a year later. He agreed to be named in the report.

The independent expert panel report said: "The respondent's [Mr Byrne's] decision not to engage with the complainant following what he perceived to be acts of misconduct was not, as he argued, a reasonable HR strategy. It was bullying.

"He should, as he now accepts, have tackled any alleged misconduct through a proper disciplinary process not by ostracising the complainant."

Speaking exclusively to BBC Midlands Today, Mr Barker said his experience had had a terrible impact on his mental health and had left him in fear of how he would be judged by future employers and within the party.

"When I contacted the ICGS I was devastated and increasingly isolated," he said.

"I knew my job was over and nothing could be done to get it back, but now my career in Labour was at risk too because I had no reference."

Mr Byrne, who has held his seat since 2004, served as a member of the Cabinet in Gordon Brown's administration and was chief secretary to the Treasury from 2009-2010. Before that he served in a number of other ministerial jobs.

He was Labour's candidate for West Midlands Metro Mayor last year, but lost to Conservative rival Andy Street.

'Valuable lesson'


In a statement, he said he accepted he "did not resolve the dispute correctly with a proper disciplinary process", and failed to fulfil his "obligations as an employer and Parliament's Behaviour Code".

He also accepted it was a breach of Parliament's Behaviour Code, which he said he fully supported and thanked the panel for accepting his "genuine remorse".

It had been "a valuable lesson for me and one I am determined to learn as me and my team seek to offer the best possible service and voice for the residents of Hodge Hill", Mr Byrne said.

The BBC understands a separate allegation that parliamentary staff and funds were used to support Mr Byrne's mayoral campaign has been made to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). If found to be true this would be a breach of parliamentary rules.

In a letter, Mr Byrne's lawyers said this allegation was not new and was not currently being investigated by IPSA. He categorically denied any breach of the rules.

David Barker began working for Liam Byrne in 2019


Mr Barker, who claims he was paid via the parliamentary system, said his work for the MP had related almost entirely to his mayoral campaign.

He said he had raised this with Labour figures but added the issue had never been resolved.

In response to the ICGS findings, The Labour Party said it "fully supports the recommendations of this independent report, including the proposed sanction".

In his evidence to the investigation, Mr Barker said Mr Byrne had begun excluding him following a minor disagreement about being able to continue food bank collections in the days leading up to the first Covid lockdown in March 2020.

Mr Barker was sent home and then ignored by Mr Byrne in WhatsApp communications within the team during lockdown and when he contracted Covid-19, he said.

He was subsequently signed off work with stress on 4 June and Mr Barker said Mr Byrne had made no efforts to contact him, before a colleague informed him a month later his contract would not be renewed.

Mr Barker said he had been ignored by the MP after a minor disagreement


"When Liam first stopped talking to me, my colleagues and I assumed he just needed a couple of days to calm down and apologise," he said.

"I gave it a couple of weeks, but during that time he ignored me telling him I had Covid-19 symptoms on six separate occasions."

Mr Barker, a Labour candidate for the upcoming local elections in Birmingham on 5 May, added: "I then grew anxious that something deeper was wrong and I was uncertain of what to do next without losing my job."

The report said Mr Byrne removed Mr Barker's access to the MP's social media accounts and "wiped" a work mobile being used for the mayoral campaign.

It found Mr Byrne's decision to disable Mr Barker's access to his parliamentary IT account had a "punitive" effect. This was "disproportionate and amounted to malicious behaviour".

Mr Byrne claimed he had passed line management of Mr Barker to his office manager in London, but the member of staff denied that had taken place and the report stated the panel did not find Mr Byrne's account convincing.

Standards commissioner Ms Stone, who reviewed the investigators' findings for the panel, also concluded Mr Byrne did not co-operate with the investigation in a satisfactory manner, which led to "unacceptable" delays.

Separate to the ICGS investigation, a number of Labour sources have expressed concerns to the BBC about Mr Byrne's behaviour towards both Labour staff and his team.

A senior figure who asked to remain anonymous said: "Anyone who knows him, or has worked with him will not be surprised that this day has come."

Another former colleague said Mr Byrne could be "perfectly nice" but was "prone to fits of rage" which they had personally witnessed.

Like many MPs, he tended to hire young people who were keen and did not know the way they were being treated was not OK, the former colleague added.

A similar accusation was made by Mr Barker but was not upheld in the expert panel report.

Lawyers for Mr Byrne said the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Independent Expert Panel had both dismissed the allegation he could be "volatile" and "prone to fits of rage".

It was also "simply not true" Mr Byrne employed young staff who did not know the way they were being treated was not OK, they said.

"All staff are briefed on the parliamentary behaviour code which is on display in Mr Byrne's office," lawyers for the MP said.


David Barker said he had felt ostracised within Mr Byrne's office


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×