LONDON — Long-serving Labour MP Neil Coyle, who was suspended last year for bullying a colleague and abusing a journalist, is being replaced on a Commons select committee and will take up a newly created role with the party.
It comes after further concerns were raised about his conduct towards staff, POLITICO can reveal.
At present those concerns have not been put in writing and have not triggered any formal complaints process. Coyle strongly denies any link between his latest outburst and his departure from the committee.
Coyle, who has represented Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015, was elected to a seat on the Work and Pensions Committee in October, after unsuccessfully standing for the role of chair.
However, he is to leave the position after only a few weeks following a clash in a committee meeting which resulted in concerns about his behavior being verbally raised with the parliamentary authorities including the Speaker of the House.
He is said to have verbally lashed out at parliamentary staff during a private session of the committee in early November, according to three people familiar with the matter, one of whom described his demeanor as “really aggressive.” A fourth person who witnessed the incident described Coyle as “robust” rather than aggressive.
Coyle strongly denied the existence of a complaint about his behavior, saying POLITICO had been misled, and describing any allegation of a link between his behavior and his leaving the committee as “vexatious nonsense.” He stressed that no formal complaint process against him had been initiated.
He said his decision to leave had been entirely motivated by taking the new role for Labour, as political lead for the London region. He did not directly address the allegations about his conduct, but made a vague reference to “professional disagreements.”
In a statement Coyle said: “I am delighted to be taking on a new role as Labour’s political lead for the capital, with more campaigning and other responsibilities that clash with the select committee.”
He said MPs and staff had “encouraged” him to stay on the committee after “nine years of effective involvement.”
He added further: “Committee members need to know they can work without vexatious stories impeding their efforts and that inevitable professional disagreements on the exact nature of the work will not be deliberately misconstrued.”
Coyle said MPs ought to consider a vote of no confidence in the chair of the committee “if they feel processes are not being properly followed or that anyone is being unfairly treated.” POLITICO is not aware that any such vote has been proposed.
Raised with Commons Speaker
One parliamentary worker claimed the incident during the committee meeting was not a one-off, and that Coyle had been abrasive in his dealings with staff on occasions leading up to that.
He was said to be particularly unhappy with the way that the committee was pursuing hearings on the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment.
His conduct was subsequently raised with the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, and parliamentary management.
The Speaker’s office and the Labour Party declined to comment.
A senior Labour official said the party was not aware of any complaint against Coyle and stressed he was leaving to allow him to take up his new position.
MPs can resign from a committee only with the passage of a motion in the Commons, which in Coyle’s case is due to be brought forward Monday to clear the way for his taking up the new position.
Coyle was suspended from the Labour Party and the House of Commons last year after breaching the code of conduct for MPs by bullying a member of staff and subjecting a journalist to racially offensive abuse.
He apologized for his behavior in those cases and spoke publicly about his struggle with alcoholism, and has since abstained from drinking.
The Labour Party restored the whip to Coyle shortly after his apology and he was re-elected at July’s general election.
Bethany Dawson contributed to this report.
The post Labour MP leaves committee amid fresh concerns over his conduct appeared first on Politico.
