Gay Tory MP blames ‘mental stress’ of coming out after inviting parliamentary intern to ‘fool around’ with him
Tory MP for Delyn, Rob Roberts. (Parliament)
Tory MP Rob Roberts accused of improper conduct towards two young parliamentary interns has blamed the “stress” of coming out as gay.
The MP for Delyn, who was elected in December, is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a 21-year-old female intern and a male parliamentary staffer.
Tory MP Rob Roberts accused of propositioning two young staffers.
In messages to the young woman published by the BBC, Roberts, 40, invited her to “fool around” after complimenting her “lovely legs”.
He wrote: “Just thought we could have some fun maybe, no strings. I might be gay but I enjoy… fun times.”
The woman told BBC Wales the messages heft her feeling “incredibly sick” and she “didn’t really feel comfortable” returning to parliament afterwards.
Tory MP Rob Roberts has not apologised for his conduct
She explained: “The culture of politics can be quite toxic when it comes to these things especially when you’re a girl dealing with an MP. It was just horrific.”
Roberts is also accused of inviting a young male parliamentary staffer to dinner, which led to them moving positions.
In messages about the exchange, he admitted: “[I told him] that I liked him and asked him to dinner. Really poor judgement on my part, hands up. He didn’t react very well because it created a problem for him that I felt that way.”
“The chief whip was involved, lots of drama.”
MP blames ‘mental stress’ of coming out.
In a statement to the BBC, Roberts said: “I have found the last few months and the ‘coming out’ process to have been particularly challenging and the cause of a great deal of mental stress to me.
“Creating a story from this interaction which has been dealt with amicably seems calculated to add to that stress, which is distressing.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Our party takes all allegations extremely seriously and has safeguarding and complaints processes in place to investigate complaints made to it under the party’s code of conduct.”
In May, police were called to Roberts’ house to disperse an illegal lockdown birthday party.
Roberts said he was 200 miles away at the time of the party, adding: “My family have been reminded of the guidance set out by the government.”
