Labour MP could lose seat after sexual misconduct findings upheld

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Christian Matheson, MP for the City of Chester since 2015, was found to have put undue pressure on a female staff member to go on a “sexually motivated” trip overseas with him. Following an investigation by an independent investigator, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone upheld two allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr She concluded that he had invited the complainant to take a private trip abroad, and “the invitation was sexually motivated, unwanted, and had placed the complainant under pressure and intimidated her”. The Commissioner concluded that these were all “unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances.” Mr Matheson did not appeal the Commissioner’s decision, but contested some of her findings during the process of determining punishment. Although it took into account the fact that Mr Matheson accepted that he had breached the sexual misconduct policy, the panel found that his “continuing failure to acknowledge the full extent of his misconduct an aggravating factor” and “insulting to the complainant”.