Inside the Government Whips' Office
The Story
Dan box
4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 17 August 2020
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An MP has been accused of rape - and questions are again being asked about the role of whips in protecting parliamentary staff. Historically, the whips have a reputation as the shadowy brokers of backroom deals and the keepers of secrets. But is the notorious office where the real power in Westminster truly lies?
Guests
Esther Webber, Red Box reporter.
Anne Milton, former MP and deputy chief whip.
Host: Manveen Rana
Clips used: BBC, the National Theatre
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For a weekend in August when Parliament is in recess and MPs were doing whatever MPs do on holiday |
| 0:10.3 | nobody could have expected the frenzied Westminster chatter that was about to ensue. |
| 0:16.0 | But when news broke on Saturday the 1st of August that a former minister and current Tory MP had been arrested for rape. |
| 0:25.0 | Political watchers everywhere were a gog. |
| 0:28.0 | Sunday Times reports the allegations were made by a former parliamentary employee |
| 0:32.0 | and that the woman had accused him of rape, |
| 0:34.9 | sexual assault and coercive control. |
| 0:37.5 | But the story was even more remarkable. |
| 0:40.5 | As the Times had reported a week earlier, the woman who made the complaint to the police had already reported this MP's behavior to the Chief Whip. |
| 0:52.0 | Now there are also reports that the Tory Party Chief Whip Mark Spencer had been aware of |
| 0:57.3 | allegations and had spoken to the victim. So who are the whips? They have a reputation as the shadowy brokers of backroom deals, the keepers of secrets. |
| 1:08.0 | What do the whips do behind the scenes? And why didn't they do more in this case? You're listening to stories |
| 1:15.5 | of our times from the Times and the Sunday Times. I'm Manveen Rana. Today |
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... |
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