MP 'scum' row: Shaun Bailey says his mother was abused after Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner used insult in Commons debate
A Conservative MP has claimed his mother and staff were abused after Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called a colleague “scum” in parliament.
Ms Rayner apologised after she used the language about Tory MP Chris Clarkson during a fiery Commons debate on Wednesday.
But Shaun Bailey, the MP for West Bromwich West, suggested members of the public had copied her behaviour.
He said his mother had called him last night to say that “type of wording” had been used down the phone to her “because she was my mother.”
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Bailey, the MP for West Bromwich West, said: “I can take the rough and tumble of this place as much as anyone.
“But some of the language we saw yesterday was abhorrent and particularly the use of the word ‘scum’.
“Now, I’m sorry, but when I got a phone call at 11.30 last night from my mum saying she’d had people using that type of wording down the phone at her because she was my mother and today my staff members have called me [to report] that type of abhorrent abuse, it is absolutely not on.”
Mr Bailey asked Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg for a debate on the standards of conduct in the chamber, adding: “The language we use impacts people beyond us.”
He suggested Ms Rayner should appear before MPs to apologise to them and “perhaps to my mum as well”.
Mr Rees-Mogg reminded MPs of the guide to parliamentary practice, noting: “Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language.
“Inevitably, in discussing heated political matters, people state their case forcefully but they must do so politely.”
Mr Clarkson said Ms Rayner had called him “scum” after he insinuated that members of the shadow front bench believe the Covid-19 pandemic is a “good crisis” to exploit.
Ms Rayner later apologised for the language “used in a heated debate.”
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