It was an accusation of sexual assault that ultimately brought down Boris Johnson's government. When Conservative MP and whip Chris Pincher was accused of groping two men in a private members' club, the scandal was not so much the act itself but the accusations of a "cover up". In The Open Secret, a three part series from Sky News, political correspondent Liz Bates hears from others who have been scared to speak out about inappropriate behaviour and finds out why Westminster seems to struggle to deal with such claims.
All content for The Open Secret is the property of Sky News and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
It was an accusation of sexual assault that ultimately brought down Boris Johnson's government. When Conservative MP and whip Chris Pincher was accused of groping two men in a private members' club, the scandal was not so much the act itself but the accusations of a "cover up". In The Open Secret, a three part series from Sky News, political correspondent Liz Bates hears from others who have been scared to speak out about inappropriate behaviour and finds out why Westminster seems to struggle to deal with such claims.
MPs offices are like "650 tiny kingdoms", with just one or two people working very closely together, and little external oversight. So, if something goes wrong with a work relationship, MPs staff can feel like they have no-one to turn to for help.
On the second episode of this three-part series, Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates speaks to Parliamentary staffers who lived in fear of the MPs they worked for, developed post-traumatic stress disorders and some who were forced out of the jobs they loved due to bullying.
If you want to get in touch about anything you hear in this episode, Liz is on twitter @wizbates
Political news editor: Agnes Chambre Senior political news editor: Katy Dillon Podcast Producer: Rosie Gillott Podcast Editor: Philly Beaumont Sound Designer: Tom Burchill
The Open Secret
It was an accusation of sexual assault that ultimately brought down Boris Johnson's government. When Conservative MP and whip Chris Pincher was accused of groping two men in a private members' club, the scandal was not so much the act itself but the accusations of a "cover up". In The Open Secret, a three part series from Sky News, political correspondent Liz Bates hears from others who have been scared to speak out about inappropriate behaviour and finds out why Westminster seems to struggle to deal with such claims.
