MP tells of sex pest in the cloakroom as Tory defends his bottom slap
Fresh "sexism in the Commons" allegations emerged today as a woman Tory MP revealed that a Labour backbencher had propositioned her.
Nadine Dorries said the Scottish MP had "disgusted" her with his sexual harassment in the MPs' cloakroom.
Ms Dorries, who put her revelations on social networking website Twitter, spoke out less than 24 hours after Conservative grandee Sir Nicholas Winterton was accused of slapping the bottom of Labour MP Natascha Engel.
She tweeted: "A Scottish Labour MP ... walked up to me in the cloakroom and said: You were in my dreams all night. Would you like to know what you were doing?'
"I refused. He walked out of the room with me and insisted from 2 paces behind in telling me, disgusting me."
Ms Dorries claims she has received sexually explicit text messages from another Labour MP. She told the Evening Standard that because the man has two children she will refuse to name him. "The things that Labour MPs have said to me are truly disgusting," she said.
Today Sir Nicholas, 71, defended his "friendly" approach to women. He and Ms Engel, 42, were queuing for food in the Commons Tea Room when fellow MPs heard her shriek: "I can't believe it. Sir Nicholas has just slapped my bottom!" Labour MP Kerry McCarthy tweeted about his "shocking behaviour" last night.
Asked if he often slapped bottoms, Sir Nicholas, who is married to fellow MP Anne Winterton, said: "I don't make a habit of it. You might do it now and again if you felt so disposed, if you had a sensible, friendly relationship with an individual. Can I remember this incident? No. Can I categorically deny it? No."
He said any such gesture would have been out of "affection and regard". Ms Engel said: "This is very embarrassing. I would rather not be slapped on the backside. But he is an old man. It is not the end of the world."
The woman at the centre of a Conservative selection row today apologised for a "miscommunication" over her affair with a Tory MP. Liz Truss, a married high-flier backed by David Cameron for South West Norfolk, was attacked for failing to tell her local party of her relationship with Mark Field.
