Parliament’s Serjeant at Arms is being investigated amid claims he verbally abused a female colleague, despite his staunch defence of John Bercow over bullying allegations.
Kamal El-Hajji, who is responsible for the security of House of Commons, is said to have ‘yelled’ at a female security official in front of witnesses last week, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Details of the inquiry emerged less than a day after Mr El-Hajji dismissed allegations of bullying against the Speaker as a ‘witch hunt’.
In an article for The House, the internal parliamentary magazine, he said claims against Mr Bercow came from ‘disgruntled’ former employees who sought to discredit him.
Parliament’s Serjeant at Arms, Kamal El-Hajji, is being investigated amid claims he verbally abused a female colleague in a heated exchange last week
He said that Mr Bercow had supported him since his election as the first ‘non-white’ Serjeant at Arms in 2016.
The Speaker is understood to have welcomed his appointment two years ago as part of a drive to improve diversity in Parliament.
But it has now emerged that Mr El-Hajji is himself locked in a bullying row following a run-in with a female colleague.
A senior Parliamentary official told The Daily Telegraph: ‘While we cannot comment on individual cases, any reported incident would be dealt with through the appropriate channels.’
It came as a briefing note from the House of Commons revealed that supportive MPs had been asked to deflect attention away from the bullying allegations surrounding Mr Bercow.
One extract even suggested MPs accuse the BBC of bullying for its incessant reporting on the issue.
Details of the probe emerged less than a day after Mr El-Hajji, 59, dismissed allegations of bullying against the Speaker John Bercow (pictured) as a ‘witch hunt’
Earlier this year Mr El-Hajj courted controversy after claiming he had been the victim of racism in the House of Commons.
The Moroccan-born 59-year-old is believed to have described the Commons as a ‘white people’s club’ after he was subjected to racist comments, stripped of his responsibilities and kicked out of his grace and favour home.
Mr El-Hajji started in his £80,000 position with a team of around 12 and a grand office.
A year later, he was told his team was to be subsumed into a new In-House Services department and that he would have to move from his office to a ‘cupboard-sized’ room while the windows were refurbished.
In 2016, he had also been given a three-bedroom residence next to Parliament’s Derby Gate, where he lives with his wife and three children. A source said Mr El-Hajji received an official letter saying he has to leave his home by next January.
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