Labour activist claims she was raped at party event & was warned AGAINST coming forward
LABOUR activist Bex Bailey claimed she was raped at a party event and was then advised not to report the attack.
Labour activist Bex Bailey opens up about sexual assault
Ms Bailey said the alleged attack took place in 2011 during a party event and a senior party figure advised her against reporting it as it could "damage" her position.
The Labour activist made the allegations while discussing the release of a document listing purported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct within Westminster.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 PM programme, she said: "I was seriously sexually assaulted at a Labour party event by a – it wasn't an MP – a person more senior to me.
"It took me a while to summon up the courage to tell anyone in the party but when I did I told a senior member of staff who suggested to me not to report it.
"I was told that if I did it might damage me. That might be their genuine view, it might be that that was the case in which case it shows that we have a serious problem in politics."
Ms Bailey, who was praised by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for showing "incredible bravery", is a former member of the party's ruling National Executive Committee.
She said she had "tried to pretend it hadn't happened" and did not report the attack to the police at the time.
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Ms Bailey said she waved her anonymity to promote change in the way such cases are handled by political parties.
A Labour spokesperson 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."