蜜芽传媒

Labour activist and former member of Labour's ruling NEC, Bex Bailey, has spoken to Radio 4's PM programme about a serious sexual assault she suffered at a Labour party event in 2011.

She told Carolyn Quinn that when she later asked for advice from a senior member of staff within the party, she was encouraged not to pursue it and that reporting it formally could "damage" her.

Labour have tightened their procedures for dealing with allegations like this and a letter has been sent to all party members making it clear that the party will not tolerate any form of discrimination or sexual harassment and outlining a set of new procedures.

Bex Bailey believes there is still more to be done and is calling for an "independent agency" that people can report to, "to make sure that these issues are dealt with fairly and without political bias".

A Labour Party spokesperson has said: "The Labour Party takes these allegations extremely seriously. It takes great courage for victims of rape to come forward - and all support must and will be made available to them. We would strongly recommend that the police investigate the allegations of criminal actions that Bex Bailey has made. Labour will also launch an independent investigation into claims that a party employee acted improperly over these 2011 allegations."

(Photo: Bex Bailey. Credit: Bex Bailey)

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