Furious John Bercow dismisses ‘total and utter rubbish’ bullying allegations from former Black Rod David Leakey that he ‘brutalised’ Commons staff as the ex-Speaker claims his accuser is ‘desperate to remain relevant’

• John Bercow faced allegations of bullying but has vehemently denied them all
• Former Black Rod David Leakey recently claimed Mr Bercow ‘brutalised staff’ 
• But the former Commons Speaker today said that was ‘total and utter rubbish’ 

A furious John Bercow today dismissed bullying allegations made against him by the former Black Rod David Leakey as ‘total and utter rubbish’. 

Mr Leakey claimed earlier this month that Mr Bercow had ‘brutalised staff in the House of Commons and elsewhere and I include myself in that’. 

He submitted a dossier to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards outlining what he described as the ‘intolerable rudeness and explosive behaviour’ of the former Speaker. 

But Mr Bercow has hit back in an interview with Sky News as he rejected all of the accusations made against him and claimed Mr Leakey had made the claims because he is ‘desperate to remain relevant’.

His intervention comes amid a growing political row over whether Mr Bercow should be given a peerage. 

John Bercow today dismissed bullying claims made against him as ‘total and utter rubbish’

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is thought to have nominated Mr Bercow for the honour after Downing Street decided to break with the convention of governments elevating former Commons speakers to the House of Lords.

Responding to the allegations made against him by Mr Leakey, Mr Bercow said: ‘Total and utter rubbish from start to finish. 

‘I noticed how hesitant David Leakey was in developing his case as though he was choosing his words carefully. 

‘Total and utter rubbish. The first point is that David Leakey didn’t work for me, he wasn’t employed by me, he wasn’t an employee of the House of Commons. 

‘He worked in and was the protocol officer of the House of Lords. He is in absolutely no position whatsoever to comment on my relations with my parliamentary colleagues of which is is completely and utterly ignorant. 

‘He doesn’t know what my relations were my clerks. He has absolutely no intelligence on those matters whatsoever. 

David Leakey, pictured right, accused the former Commons Speaker of ‘brutalising’ staff

‘What we have got here is somebody who left the House who is thrashing around, desperate to remain relevant, popping up at every turn, trying to make himself seem very important, very centre stage, very at the heart of things in the way that I went about my work. 

‘None of those things is true.’ 

Mr Leakey revealed earlier this month that he was submitting a complaint detailing allegations of bullying against Mr Bercow to the parliamentary authorities. 

It followed a complaint by Lord Lisvane, formerly the Clerk of the House, which led Mr Bercow to ‘categorically’ deny having ever bullied anyone.

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