John Bercow has been readmitted to the Labour Party despite being banned from Parliament for life following an investigation into bullying.
The former House of Commons Speaker, who burnt bridges with his ex-Conservative colleagues and sparked Eurosceptic fury during the Brexit years, joined Labour after leaving Westminster.
The one-time Thatcherite Tory switched to Labour in June 2021, having spent almost three decades as a card-carrying Conservative member.
However, Mr Bercow was suspended from Labour in March 2022 after a report by Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel upheld 21 separate allegations of bullying and harassment.
A Labour Party spokesman confirmed the former Buckingham MP had been readmitted as a member in December 2023.
“All complaints are assessed thoroughly in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures,” the spokesman told The Spectator.
Mr Bercow, who was also spotted canvassing for Andy Burnham in Makerfield earlier this summer, was labelled a “serial bully” after a House of Commons investigation revealed he belittled colleagues and smashed a mobile phone on a desk.
The investigation, which was conducted over 22 months, also found the 63-year-old’s “behaviour fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect” from an MP.
The ex-House of Commons Speaker was out campaigning for Andy Burnham in Makerfield
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The report’s recommendations included that Mr Bercow should be banned from holding a parliamentary security pass for life.
Such a decision effectively prevents the ex-Commons Speaker from having free access to the Palace of Westminster.
“The respondent’s conduct was so serious that, had he still been a Member of Parliament, we would have determined that he should be expelled by resolution of the House,” the report said.
“As it is, we recommend that he should never be permitted a pass to the parliamentary estate.”
More than 20 bullying complaints were upheld against John Bercow
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Former MPs are entitled to a security pass despite no longer taking a seat in the House of Commons.
However, Mr Bercow insists he did not apply for a pass after leaving Parliament in 2019 and does not want one.
The 63-year-old, who has since appeared on the US version of The Traitors, criticised the investigation into his conduct and described the probe as a “kangaroo court”.
Mr Bercow said: “All I can say is that the case against me would have been thrown out by any court in the land since it is based on the flimsiest of evidence, rooted in hearsay and baseless rumour, and advanced by old school dogmatists once intent on resisting change at all costs and now settling some ancient scores with me.
John Bercow is now banned from the Palace of Westminster
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GETTY“Add to that a dash of personal spite and you have some idea of the vengeful vendetta mounted against me.
“It is a travesty of justice and brings shame on the House of Commons.
“This has been a protracted, amateurish and unjust process which would not have survived five minutes’ scrutiny in court.
“To describe what I have experienced as a kangaroo court is grossly insulting to kangaroos.
John Bercow stepped down as Speaker in 2019 | UK PARLIAMENT
“None of the investigators is a lawyer, and the commissioner overseeing them has no expertise whatsoever in the consideration of alleged bullying.
“Throughout, gossip from absent friends of the complainants has been treated as the absolute truth, whilst eyewitnesses who challenged the allegations were described as ‘not helpful’ and discounted.
“The commissioner even presumed to make findings on matters about which I was never questioned.”
He also insisted the idea he had been banned from Parliament was “establishment spin” and claimed he could still attend debates as a guest.