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Keep Your Hands In Your Pockets, UK Trade Minister Tells Male Lawmakers Amid Allegations That A Tory MP Watched Porn In House Of Commons
- The UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said all women members of parliament had been subject to inappropriate touching or sexist language and advised her male colleagues to keep their hands in their pockets
- Trevelyan said some male politicians believed that their election to high office made them "God's gift to women".
- Trevelyan's statement comes amid allegations that a Conservative MP was caught by two of his female colleagues watching porn in the House of Commons chamber.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said all women members of parliament had been subject to inappropriate touching or sexist language and advised her male colleagues to keep their hands in their pockets
Trevelyan urged her male counterparts to “keep your hands in your pockets” as she said all women in parliament have been subjected to “wandering hands”.
"I think all of us as women in parliament have been subjected to inappropriate language and to wandering hands ... It's never okay anywhere. It's not okay in Westminster either," Trevelyan told Sky News.
"Fundamentally, if you're a bloke, keep your hands in your pockets and behave as you would if you had your daughter in the room." she added.
She said some men in Westminster thought being elected made them “God’s gift to women”, although she acknowledged that a vast majority were “delightful, committed parliamentarians”.
“There are a few for whom too much drink, or indeed a sort of view that somehow being elected makes them God’s gift to women, that they can suddenly please themselves, that is never OK.” Trevelyan said.
Trevelyan spoke about one extraordinary incident when she was 'pinned up against a wall' by a man who is now no longer an MP. She also advised women subjected to that kind of behaviour to 'make public humiliation one of your tools'.
Trevelyan, who was first elected a member of parliament for the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency at the 2015 general election, is a chartered accountant by trade, and a prominent member of PM Boris Johnson's cabinet.
Trevelyan's statement comes amid allegations that a Conservative MP was caught by two of his female colleagues watching porn in the House of Commons chamber.
PM Boris Johnson has condemned the MP accused of watching porn in the Commons.
The chief whip of ruling Tories has called for the allegations to be investigated by the independent complaints and grievance scheme (ICGS).
Attorney General Suella Braverman said if the MP was found to have been watching porn it should result in termination of parliamentary membership.
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