MP Stephen Hepburn suspended over sexual harassment allegation

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/07/mp-stephen-hepburn-suspended-over-sexual-harassment-allegation

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The Labour MP Stephen Hepburn has been suspended from the party while officials investigate a complaint that he sexually harassed a female party member.

Hepburn, who represents Jarrow, is alleged to have cornered the woman, who was then in her 20s, on a night out in 2005. A witness statement from another MP, obtained by the HuffPost, claims Hepburn tried to get her to share a taxi with him after a meal in a curry restaurant.

Hepburn, 59, was suspended from Labour after a meeting of members of the party’s national constitution committee on Friday.

An independent charity, which was appointed by Labour to investigate all allegations of sexual harassment made from February 2019 onwards, will investigate the complaint.

A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour party takes all complaints of sexual harassment extremely seriously, which are fully investigated and any appropriate disciplinary action taken in line with the party’s rules and procedures.”

The party was first made aware of a complaint against the MP two years ago, but there was no investigation. When another MP came forward as a witness and with an account of the incident, the panel felt there was enough material to launch an investigation.

The statement by the MP, seen by the HuffPost, said they remembered the incident vividly from 14 years ago “because it was so unpleasant”.

Hepburn was first elected in 1997 and has a majority of 17,000.

The BBC reported Hepburn “completely refutes” the allegation, and “welcomes the investigation so that the matter can be put to rest”.

A Labour spokesperson added: “We are determined to challenge and overturn sexual harassment and misogyny within politics and across society as a whole. We cannot comment on individual complaints.”