‘It became very tense’ Lindsay Hoyle exposes Bercow relationship following bully probe

Lindsay Hoyle discusses his relationship with John Bercow

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Sir Lindsay was interviewed by LBC’s Andrew Marr about the bullying probe against his predecessor, John Bercow. While Sir Lindsay remained relatively tight-lipped on the matter, he shared that things became “tense” during their working relationship. He added he wanted to move on from the report and protect the futures of the people working in Parliament – to ensure the reputation of speaker was not tarnished.

Speaking on his evening show, Mr Marr asked Sir Lindsay about the report into Mr Bercow and what he had seen working with him.

He opened up by asking: “[I was going] through Portcullis House where MPs gather to drink coffee and gossip and so forth.

“And I saw a poster stuck up there saying ‘recognise your power, influence and authority and don’t abuse them’.

“I just wondered if this referred to anyone in particular?”

Sir Lindsay brushed it off and said the poster was a “reminder to us all”.

Mr Marr then directly asked whether Sir Lindsay had experienced any bullying or anything negative while working with Mr Bercow.

He replied: “What I would I say… it got tense at sometimes which, in life, it can be very tense and life can be very difficult.

“But as I say, I personally didn’t suffer bullying and what I would say is at times it became very stretched, very tense.

John Bercow clashes with Sky News host during interview

“And in the end, I can only say that I came in with a new clean sweep to what I believe my job is at the house.”

Sir Lindsay ended by stating his role was to protect the futures of the people working in Parliament.

An independent expert panel upheld the findings of an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone.

It found Mr Bercow was a “serial bully” who berated staff.

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The 89-page report outlines in extraordinary detail the behaviour of the now-disgraced ex-Parliamentarian, including two occasions of throwing his phone and excessive swearing at staff.

In a statement, he 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.

“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.”

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