Rishi Sunak faces yet another by-election headache as Brexiteer MP Peter Bone suspended after 'bullying' aide
Peter Bone waits in Downing Street ahead of the final speech from Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson
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Rishi Sunak has been hit with yet another by-election headache as MPs prompted a recall petition by voting to suspend Brexit-backing backbencher Peter Bone for six weeks.
Bone, 71, was stripped of the Tory whip last week after being accused of bullying his aide and exposing himself in a hotel room.
The Wellingborough MP's former staffer was left as a "broken shell" after enduring "physical, emotional and psychological abuse".
Bone, a leading Eurosceptic who was a staunch supporter of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, rejected the findings from the Independent Expert Panel as "false", "untrue" and "without foundation".
WATCH NOW: Peter Bone during a previous appearance on GB News
However, the IEP found that the former deputy Commons leader struck his aide on the back of the head before telling him he was having a "thick day".
The report added: "This was a deliberate and conscious abuse of power using a sexual mechanism: indecent exposure."
Other bullying incidents allegedly took place between 2012 and 2013.
Constituents in Wellingborough, which returned Bone with a majority of 18,540 in 2019, can now force a by-election if 10 per cent of eligible registered voters back holding a poll.
Rishi Sunak's pivot has been described as kickstarting the general election campaignPAThe Northamptonshire seat was considered a bellwether constituency until Bone's first election victory in 2005, flipping from Tory to Labour under both Tony Blair and Harold Wilson.
Despite Bone's majority increasingly gradually in every subsequent poll, recent by-election results suggest Sunak could face a difficult task in retaining Wellingborough.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently celebrated victories at the expense of the Tories in Tamworth, Mid Bedfordshire, Selby & Ainsty and Wakefield.
Southside is now urging Bone to resign and trigger yet another by-election.
Peter Bone in Whitehall
PAShadow Commons leader Lucy Powell said: "Peter Bone should save his constituents the disruption of a recall petition and resign.
"The people of Wellingborough deserve an MP they can be proud of.
"The country deserves the change that only Labour can bring."
The Liberal Democrats, who position themselves as the natural opposition to the Conservative Party in Blue Wall England, also triumphed in Somerton & Frome, Tiverton & Honiton, North Shropshire and Chesham & Amersham.
Sir Ed Davey's party are now ramping up efforts to launch an inquiry into what Johnson and other senior Tories knew about the allegations made against Bone when he was elevated to the frontbench.
A recent MRP model by pollsters at Savanta revealed Labour look on track to win the seat.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer congratulates newly elected Labour MP for Mid Bedfordshire Alistair Strathern
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It suggested Labour's vote share in Wellingborough has increased from 26 per cent to 47 per cent since the last election while Tory support has meanwhile collapsed from 62 per cent to just 35 per cent.
A total of five allegations were made by the former staffer in October 2021.
Another complaint, which went unresolved, was put forward to then-Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017.
Tory MP Philip Hollobone, who represents constituents in neighbouring seat of Kettering, voiced his disappointment at Bone's suspension.
He said: "Peter has been an outstanding MP for 18 years, he has helped tens of thousands of local residents with difficulties they've had - that it should come to an end like this I think it is very sad for all concerned."
GB News has approached Bone for comment.