Female Westminster staff use secret WhatsApp group to warn about 'sex pest' MPs to avoid

Cabinet ministers are among politicians named in a secret WhatsApp group of female staff in which they discuss sex pest MPs to avoid at Westminster, it has been reported.

Female employees, including researchers, secretaries and aides working in Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament, reportedly shared horror stories in the group. The women also warned new recruits of MPs with a reputation for sexually inappropriate behaviour.

According to The Sun, sources claim the first MP could be exposed by the weekend, with one source saying resignations are "anticipated".

Allegations include MPs groping staff in lifts, a Cabinet minister "groping" during drinks parties, senior MPs having sex with staff in Parliamentary offices, and bosses referring to female employees as "sugar t**s" and demanding affairs.

A source told The Sun that the names of some of the worst offenders were widely known, but that the list was being put together "so new arrivals could be warned". Many of the accused are said to be "the usual old suspects," but one poster said they also include "surprising younger names".

Another source added: "For years we have all looked out for each other. It's like, 'So-and-so is hiring, but it can't be a woman for him,'"

Former and current Cabinet Ministers, senior frontbenchers from both Tories and Labour, peers and aides have all been accused, The Sun reported.

Tory whips have reportedly created a "lechers list" of ill-behaved MPs to keep an eye on due to the Government's razor thin majority. Some whips have reportedly taken to patrolling bars and terraces to deter bad behaviour.

The report come on the heels of an announcement by an MP that he is ready to out a party colleague who treated a woman "appallingly". John Mann hinted Monday (23 October) that a Labour colleague had been booted from a foreign trip for bad behaviour towards females.

He had mentioned the incident earlier in a tweet: "I will be naming a Labour MP who behaved appalling towards a young woman to the chief whip and leader. Why was her complaint ignored before?"

The Sun noted that two senior female Tories – Baroness Jenkins and ex-Cabinet minister Maria Miller – have also opened up about the abuse women are subjected to in Westminster.

Miller claimed she "experienced far more sexual harassment as an MP than in my 20-year career in advertising and marketing." She added: "This is not a thing of the past – we need to see it as a present-day concern."

A Commons spokesman said: "The House of Commons takes the welfare of everyone who works in Parliament very seriously. A free confidential helpline is provided by the House and available 24/7 for all Members' staff."