An MP has lost an appeal against his suspension from the House of Commons.
Christopher Pincher, whose Tamworth constituency covers Shenstone, Fazeley and Stonnall, was handed the eight week ban after an incident in a club in London.
The House of Commons Committee on Standards found that Mr Pincher had “caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House as a whole, and its members’ because he had ‘groped’ two people in the bar”.
But the MP had appealed the eight week ban.
However, an Independent Expert Panel chaired by retired appeal court judge Rt Hon Sir Stephen Irwin, dismissed the appeal.
In their report, the panel said:
“We consider the committee approached this task properly, with the correct considerations in mind, and applying its members’ experience of the House of Commons, fairness and obvious reason to the facts of the case
“We consider that the appellant’s arguments are misconceived or erroneous. The sanction is far from being arbitrary or disproportionate.”
Independent Expert Panel report
The suspension, if approved by MPs, would likely trigger a by-election in the Tamworth constituency.
The mechanism would require 10% of registered voters in the area to sign a petition calling for a new vote.
