Sarah Owen
Main Page: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Over the weekend a member of staff in the Commons, Muhbeen Hussain MBE, was publicly defamed online by several Conservative MPs, including Members of the shadow Front Bench. Following threats of legal action, the defamatory posts were deleted by some, but the damage was already done. This behaviour not only does reputational damage, but given the current discourse, brings serious harm and, potentially, risk to life.
What advice does the Speaker’s Office have for Members in this House and in the other place who abuse the power dynamic of their elected office to defame openly a young staffer who also works in this House, while quietly deleting their tweets without an apology? Does that fall short of the standard expected of those who serve in this House and would it be proper for them to apologise?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving notice of her point of order. The Chair is not responsible for Members’ comments on social media, but I am sure the Table Office will be able to advise on how to pursue the matter further.