John Bercow, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, has been heavily reprimanded after an investigation found him guilty of bullying and harassment.

An investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said Mr Bercow had been a “serial bully” who “repeatedly and extensively” bullied House of Commons staff.

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathyrn Stone concluded his behaviour had “no place in any workplace.”

“Members of staff in the House should not be expected to have to tolerate it as part of everyday life. No person at work however senior should behave in this way,” she said.

He had been accused of throwing a mobile phone, swearing at officials and making a sexually and racially discriminatory remark at a member of staff.

All separate 21 allegations were proved and upheld.

The scathing report, published on Tuesday, said Mr Bercow should not be allowed a pass to enter Parliament.

This means it is recommended that he is not allowed to step foot in Parliament, despite being Speaker of the House for 10 years.

It added that if he was still an MP they would recommend expelling him from the House.

“His behaviour fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect from any Member of Parliament,” the report said.

“The respondent’s conduct was so serious that, had he still been a Member of Parliament, we would have determined that he should be expelled by resolution of the House. As it is, we recommend that he should never be permitted a pass to the Parliamentary estate.”

Mr Bercow has strongly denied the allegations and branded the investigation into his conduct as “amateurish”.

“The case against me would have been thrown out by any court in the land since it is based on the flimsiest of evidence, rooted in hearsay and baseless rumour,” Mr Bercow said.

“Add to that a dash of personal spite and you have some idea of the vengeful vendetta mounted against me.”

He added: “This has been a protracted, amateurish and unjust process which would not have survived five minutes’ scrutiny in court.

“To describe what I have experienced as a kangaroo court is grossly insulting to kangaroos. None of the investigators is a lawyer and the Commissioner overseeing them has no expertise whatsoever in the consideration of alleged bullying.

“Throughout, gossip from absent friends of the complainants has been treated as the absolute truth, whilst eyewitnesses who challenged the allegations were described as ‘not helpful’ and discounted. The commissioner even presumed to make findings on matters about which I was never questioned.”

Reference: Emily Ferguson