Peter Bone has been stripped of the Conservative party whip after the MP was found to have bullied and harassed a member of staff, and exposed his bare genitals to their face.
The chief whip, Simon Hart, made the decision the day after a parliamentary watchdog recommended Bone be suspended from the Commons for six weeks.
A statement from Hart said: “Following a report by the independent expert panel, the chief whip has removed the conservative whip from Peter Bone MP.”
It means Bone will sit as an independent MP. He has denied all the allegations and vowed to continue representing his constituency of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.
After a lengthy investigation, an independent panel concluded on Monday that Bone had bullied and harassed an unnamed staff member over a three-month period in late 2012.
His recommended six-week suspension is enough to trigger a recall petition if upheld by the whole house, which could lead to a byelection.
More details soon…