Labour activist who spoke out about alleged rape accuses party of 'dragging its feet' on tackling sexual harassment

A Labour activist who claimed she was raped at a party event has criticised party leaders for refusing to publish a report that is said to accuse them of having “accommodated” sexual harassment.

Bex Bailey said Labour was “dragging its feet” by refusing to release the results of an independent investigation into how it handles complaints of sexual harassment.

The former Labour adviser spoke out about her experience late last year, saying she had been raped at a party event in 2011 by a man who was senior to her but not an MP. She claimed a party official had advised her it could “damage” her if she made a complaint about the incident.

In response, Labour appointed leading QC Karen Monaghan to carry out an independent investigation into the case and the wider issue of sexual harassment in the party.

Despite the final report having been given to party leaders in May, it has not been published and its contents not disclosed to the party’s ruling executive.

Ms Bailey, 25, said the report had been “kicked into the long grass” and claimed it had concluded that sexual harassment was “rife” in the party but had been “trivialised” by senior figures.

She said she had been allowed to read the full report under strict supervision only after having fought for months to be able to see it – despite her having met personally with Jeremy Corbyn and Jennie Formby, Labour’s general secretary, to make the case for change.

She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “I know that Karon's report found that not only is sexual harassment rife in the Labour Party, as we've all known and feared...but actually that it's not being dealt with.

“It's not just my case that's not been handled properly - we've got a situation where the report clearly says that senior members of Labour have closed their eyes to these issues, they have trivialised sexual harassment, accommodated it and not handled it as they should have done and I think now is the time finally to start taking this seriously and put it back on the agenda."

Ms Bailey said she wanted Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to agree to establish an independent process for dealing with accusations of sexual harassment within the party when the body meets tomorrow.

The committee will decide which potential rule changes will be voted on at the party’s annual conference next week, and Ms Bailey said she feared changes to the complaints process would have to be delayed until next year’s conference if they are not addressed in the coming days.

Describing the current process as a “nightmare”, she said Ms Monaghan’s report concluded that she and other women had been treated “inappropriately and unacceptably”.

Saying she felt “continually let down” by Labour, she added: “I would have hoped that receiving the recommendations as the Labour Party had asked for would be an opportunity for them to confidently implement the recommendations and draw a line under this issue finally, but that's not happened.

“I know people who are going through the process at the moment who are having a nightmare time, nightmare stories of evidence being lost, delays in the case of over a year - a lack of communication.”

She added: “People are having a really horrible time and I know that reporting these issues is hard enough in itself because I haven’t reported mine to the Labour Party because I don’t feel confident in doing so.

“When you take that brave step of reporting it and then the process that you go through is so difficult and you’re not supported, it’s just re-traumatising. I just can’t understand why that’s allowed to continue happening."

Accusing the party of “dragging its feet” and “pushing the issue into the long grass”, she said: “It's just time for action. [After] five years and two party leaders, it's felt frustrating. It's felt like nothing has really moved on and I just can't keep feeling that frustration and I think other women are in a really difficult position too.

“Women in the party have been waiting a really long time for this and we should be able to feel safe, to feel like our issues are listened to and to be able to report it when things go wrong.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party is committed to continually improving our procedures for dealing with sexual harassment complaints and we thank Bex Bailey for her work to improve these procedures and for her incredible bravery.

“Karon Monaghan QC’s report assessed the party’s previous procedures, which we recognise were not fit for purpose. These procedures have since been improved, for example by introducing a helpline for members to report complaints, anonymising all cases, and appointing an independent specialist organisation to offer confidential advice and support to any individual affected by sexual harassment within the party.

“The party is currently considering further changes to our procedures in light of Karon Monaghan QC’s report, to ensure sexual harassment complaints are always dealt with promptly, fairly and with utmost confidentiality.”