LONDON — MP Neil Coyle is facing a five-day suspension from the House of Commons after launching into drunken abuse in two separate incidents which breached parliament’s harassment rules.
Coyle, who has been MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015 and is currently suspended from the Labour Party, engaged in “foul-mouthed and drunken abuse” of a parliamentary assistant and used “abusive language with racial overtones” toward a journalist, according to the independent panel which reviews complaints against MPs.
Coyle has also been ordered to apologize in the Commons for his behavior.
The panel found his conduct towards the staffer was “shocking and intimidating,” while, in the second case, the journalist was made to feel “uncomfortable” and was forced to take time off work as a result.
Henry Dyer, a journalist of British-Chinese heritage, reported that Coyle used racial slurs toward him in a Commons bar last year.
Following his suspension, Coyle apologized to both complainants and later promised to “take every step necessary to improve myself.” In a statement Friday, he said he would “remain teetotal” and was “deeply sorry” for his behavior.
