John Bercow faces formal complaint over allegations he bullied staff

SPEAKER John Bercow was branded unfit for office by one of Westminster's most senior former officials yesterday - as an MP moved to formally trigger an investigation into incendiary bullying claims.

Piling pressure onto the pint-sized Commons Speaker, ex-‘Black Rod’ David Leakey said Mr Bercow was “unworthy of someone in public officer”.

The former top official, who worked alongside Mr Bercow for seven years until quitting last year, described the Speaker as “genuinely intimidating”.

In a major development last night Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told The Sun that he is lodging a formal complaint to Parliament’s watchdog.

Mr Bridgen was last night drafting a lengthy dossier of complaints against the Speaker outlining why he should face a formal investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone.

It means Mr Bercow faces the humiliating prospect of being under formal investigation by the Commons disciplinary boss within days.

It follows allegations of bullying from two of Mr Bercow’s former private secretaries.

Earlier this week Angus Sinclair said Mr Bercow’s temper was so bad that he once smashed a phone on his desk in front of him. His successor Kate Emms was signed off with PTSD after working for Mr Bercow for less than a year. The Speaker continues to deny any of the bullying allegations against him.

Yesterday Mr Leakey told the PoliticsHome website that the bullying claims made by former aides “risks bringing Parliament into disrepute”.

And he said it would be unthinkable for Parliament not to investigate Mr Bercow’s behaviour.

Mr Leakey explained how he’d been on the receiving end of Mr Bercow’s bad temper himself.

On one occasion the Speaker “erupted in rage” and accused him of being anti-Semitic. Mr Leakey said: “He did apologise to me for that specific remark afterwards, but not for his other highly personal insults, and it is intolerable.”

Mr Leakey said: “This issue is now out in the open. It risks bringing Parliament, not just the Commons, into disrepute.

"For Parliament not to investigate rigorously sets a poor example; it would risk putting this on the same radar as the expenses scandal. This can no longer be simply swept under the carpet."

He added: "He has spoken out strongly against the culture of bullying in Parliament, and this just seems to reek of hypocrisy."

A spokesman for the Speaker's office said: "Mr Speaker refutes all the allegations levelled by Mr Leakey. John Bercow and David Leakey are two very different people with very different backgrounds, perspectives and ideas. They had fundamental disagreements in 2011 and 2012, but interacted adequately after that."