Sir David Natzler was the clerk of the House of Commons working closely with Speaker John Bercow at the height of the Westminster bullying scandal. He retired on 1 March after 43 years in service to parliament. In this open letter, a former Commons staffer criticises his response to the allegations of abuse while in office.
Dear David,
I saw that you celebrated your impending freedom from the House of Commons by giving a high profile interview, in which you appeared to diminish the experience of those who were courageous enough to report harassment and bullying in the House.
You said Newsnight needn’t have gotten involved, and yet I and many others (mainly women) suffered years of mistreatment that went ignored. The programme gave me a voice when I had none. I have since given up my time to work with wonderful former and current House colleagues, the Centre for Women’s Justice and Doughty Chambers to try to shine a light on the toxic culture in the House that has been swept under the carpet.
You may know that I worked in parliament for nearly 20 years. During that time I was sexually assaulted by an MP late at night when I was delivering committee papers to his office. I managed to get away and immediately told my line manager who simply said, “what do you expect?”. He didn’t engage in any conversation or ask me how I was; I realised then that I just needed to suck it up and move on.
But this proved difficult because that MP continued to make me feel uncomfortable every time I saw him. He would make a beeline for me in the corridors or in the staff cafeteria. He even came to sit with me when I was having lunch with a friend, and left his hand on my leg for what felt like a very long time. He would rush up to me every time he saw me to give me a hug or just find a way to have physical contact. He would often ask me to meet him for a drink or even to go to his flat. It went on for years.
Even when I moved to a different role it didn’t end. My new line manager noticed that he kept coming into my office and asked what was going on. When I told him, he said he would notify the whips, who would take it seriously and that the MP’s behaviour would stop. It didn’t. I felt alone and helpless and unprotected, but again I knew I had to just handle it and get on with it.
I also experienced low level harassment from others in the House on a regular basis. Male MPs and members of staff would remark on my clothes and comment on the way I looked. I was warned about certain men – everyone knew who they were and the advice was to avoid them. I took most of it in my stride, despite feeling intimidated and uncomfortable. It was the only job I’d held, so I just assumed this was what the workplace was like. I felt like I was part of a big, albeit, weirdly elite family and just accepted the assault and harassment as part of the job. More than that, I downplayed the impact of harassment and even joked about how bad it was.
I left parliament in 2012. I always knew I had been treated badly, and I felt sick and upset at the thought of the things that had happened; I knew I had been let down by management but I hadn’t realised how badly it had affected me until recently.
So last year when Newsnight was interested in hearing cases following allegations against the latest MP embroiled in scandal, I wanted to speak out to tell my story so that others wouldn’t endure years of ill treatment. For me, the issue wasn’t just about MPs, but about the treatment of staff and a failing institution. I believe the House provides a breeding ground for this behaviour and allows for it to be normalised and repeated.
When the programme aired I hoped I might get an acknowledgement, or even an apology from the House. I also wanted recognition that things needed to change in parliament for staff currently working there. Your response, though, was to say the idea there was a culture of fear was a “grotesque exaggeration”. This devastated me and made me, and others, very angry.
When it was announced Dame Laura Cox would conduct an independent inquiry my hopes were raised again. I contributed to her report and I remember crying when I read her conclusions. I felt vindicated – but the battle didn’t end there, did it? We still had to fight to ensure her report wasn’t kicked in the long grass and I felt I had no choice but to go on live TV to tell my story. I waived my right to anonymity to get the House as an employer to listen, which was a decision I didn’t take lightly. It was possibly the scariest thing I have ever done but it was important that the House implements all of Laura Cox’s recommendations.
Have you any idea of the toll this has taken on me and countless others? Do you actually care? Well, you answered those questions in subsequent interviews when you have stood up for the bullies and in doing so compounded the toxic culture. How will the culture ever change if you and other members of senior management really think that former and current staff are lying about the extent of the problem? Dame Laura was right – nothing will change while the current management and its attitudes prevail.
As you now retire some people will be patting you on the back. But I, like many others, will remember you for standing with the bullies and for being uninterested in making a difference to the lives of those still working there. You could have chosen to make a difference, but instead you have chosen to let me and many others down.
I believe in parliament. It’s an amazing place to work but it’s tarnished and it needs to change. It needs to set the gold standard for the workplace. This shouldn’t be how workplaces operate, and in many places isn’t. Clearly you were not the person to deliver the change that parliamentary staff need and deserve.
Not yours, sincerely,
Lisette
Lisette Whittaker is a former House of Commons staffer