John Bercow faces calls to resign as speaker after damning Commons bullying report

John Bercow is facing calls to resign from his position as Commons speaker in the wake of a damning report into bullying in Westminster.

In the most significant intervention yet, Maria Miller, who chairs the women and equalities select committee, said Monday's independent inquiry showed "bullying and harassment is coming right from the top".

The former cabinet minister said it was not right for Mr Bercow to oversee reform recommended by the former high court judge Dame Laura Cox, whose report found "urgent and serious problems" in the way abusive behaviour by MPs and staff is dealt with in Parliament.

Dame Cox added that a culture of "deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence" had allowed the bullying and harassment of the staff in the Commons to thrive, claiming she found it "difficult to envisage" how solutions could be delivered under the current senior administration.

"The report is incredibly powerful and clear that what is the root problem here is that the bullying and harassment is coming right from the top," Ms Miller told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Referring to claims the speaker had bullied two former officials - strongly denied by Mr Bercow - Ms Miller added: "We have outstanding allegations directly against the speaker, who will be one of the people who will be considering this report, and it cannot be right that the very people who are being criticised so heavily in an independent report are those who are going to be deciding how it is taken forward."

Asked if this meant Mr Bercow should resign, Ms Miller said: "Absolutely."

Her remarks echoed those of Sir Kevin Barrow, the outgoing chairman of the Commons Committee on Standards, who on Monday evening also called for Mr Bercow to quit.

Writing in The Times, he said: "The change in culture has to come from the top, and unfortunately I no longer believe that the Speaker, John Bercow, is the correct person to provide that leadership, so he should step down."

David Leakey, who retired in 2017 after seven years as senior Lords official Black Rod, repeated his previous calls for Mr Bercow to consider his position.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme the report showed there was a failure of leadership in the Commons.

He said: "When you add that to the individual allegations, unsubstantiated though they may be, this indicates Mr Bercow may not be fit for office and that should be taken very seriously."

The speaker's office declined to comment on Ms Miller's remarks when approached by The Independent.