Former Tory MP reprimanded for sexual misconduct

Kate Whannel
Politics reporter

Former Conservative MP Aaron Bell has been reprimanded by Parliament's standards watchdog for "brazen and drunken" sexual misconduct.

Bell was found to have touched a woman "on her left thigh, waist and bottom inappropriately and without her consent" in one of Parliament's bars in December 2023.

The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) concluded, external that if Bell had still been an MP it would have considered suspending him from Parliament "for a significant period".

Bell announced his decision to step down as the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme earlier this year citing personal and family reasons.

Responding to the report, he said he was "disappointed at the outcome" but would not appeal the findings.

"I apologise for any upset caused to the complainant and wish to make it clear that I did not intend to cause any distress.

"This investigation was one of the reasons I chose not to seek re-election at the general election - I have let down the loyal members of my association and thank them for the support they gave me as a Member of Parliament. I would also like to apologise to the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme, whom it was an honour to serve.

"This has been a difficult time for my family and I would ask that their privacy is respected at this time."

The complaint against the MP was lodged in February 2024 and subsequently upheld.

The IEP concluded that Bell had "abused his position of power over the complainant".

The panel added: "Not only was he considerably older, but he was also a Member of Parliament therefore holding a particularly powerful role.

"In addition, he was an assistant government whip which is not only a… role with considerable authority, but also… involves upholding the highest standards of conduct.

"It does not reduce the seriousness of the conduct that it took place in a bar.

"Any Member of Parliament in that setting remains a person with particular power and authority.

"Indeed, sexual misconduct such as this, which is both brazen and drunken, makes the conduct more serious as the level of threat is increased."

The investigation conducted interviews with the complainant, eye witnesses and Bell. It also reviewed WhatsApp messages between those involved.

Bell told the investigator “I was clearly drunk” and that he could not “recall everything about the evening”.

The report states: “He said he remembered touching the complainant’s thigh, “probably her waist”, but he denied touching her bottom.

"His account was that there was mutual flirting, which led to his touching the complainant.

"But in relation to his suggestion of flirting, he added that: ‘Probably, to be fair, more from me to her than the other way round’.

"The complainant denied any mutual flirting or encouragement in any way."

The complainant told the investigator she felt “really uncomfortable” and called his conduct “incredibly brazen”.

Reviewing the investigation, the parliamentary commissioner for standards said the MP's claim of mutual flirting was "contradicted by the complainant’s evidence and by that of the two eyewitnesses".

"Further, the commissioner stated that the respondent’s description of the alleged mutual flirting was ‘too general to be persuasive and, in any event, would not justify touching without specific consent’," the report said.

Bell was first elected to Parliament in 2019, winning the former Labour stronghold of Newcastle-Under-Lyme in Staffordshire.

He was highly critical of Boris Johnson over his handling of the Partygate scandal and in February 2022 called on the then-prime minister to step down.

He served in the whip's office - the team responsible for managing party discipline - from November 2023 until July 2024.