John Bercow today admitted that he has 'bullied' other MPs by mocking their accents in Parliament.
The Commons Speaker apologised for his mimicry, which he admitted could have caused offence to politicians.
He made the extraordinary admission today after Welsh MP Jonathan Edwards accused the Tories of making 'disparaging remarks' about his accent.
It comes as Parliament has been rocked by claims that MPs, peers and senior staff have bullied and sexually harassed employees over many years.
Mr Bercow, who oversees order in the Commons, has been hit by a number of bullying allegations by former members of his staff, which he has strongly denies.
Speaking in the Chamber today, he said Mr Edwards was 'absolutely right' to raise the issue, and admitted that he has mimicked accents of MPs including the Tory ex minister Ken Clarke.
Welsh MP Jonathan Edwards (pictured in Parliament today) accused the Tories of making 'disparaging remarks' about his accent
He said: 'Personal mockery of one another and members come in all shapes and sizes with a wide diversity of accents, national origins and ways of speaking, is wrong and to many people it constitutes a form of bullying.
'I am the last person to depreciate good humour in the way in which we interact, I may on occasion myself have caused offence by my extraordinarily ineffective mimicry for which I apologise.
'I have been known to seek to imitate the Father of the House (Ken Clarke) who has been a friend of mine for well over 20 years.
'As I say, my efforts at imitating him are usually feeble and they've always been undertaken in a friendly spirit.
'But I think it is a safe rule of thumb that people should not mimic other people, let's debate the issues, play the ball rather than the man or the woman.'
He made the admission after Mr Edwards, from Plaid Cymru, had accused a Tory MP - who he did not name - of taking the micky out of his thick accent when he spoke in a parliamentary debate yesterday.
Mr Edwards said: 'During the debate on the second reading of the Finance Bill yesterday it was brought to my attention that a fellow member of this House, rather than engaging with the substance of the issue being discussed chose to make disparaging remarks about my accent.
'This is not the first incident of its kind in this place.
'This House is meant to be representative of all the nations, accents and backgrounds of the British state and this kind of behaviour only serves to reinforce privilege and exclusive perception of Westminster politics.
'Mocking an accent is a very serious matter as it ultimately undermines an individual or a group of people's identity.'
'I would like to seek your advice as to whether this behaviour – that of a member mocking the accent of another member of this house, is befitting of this place.
'And can I put on record Mr Speaker, that I am extremely proud to be Welsh and of my accent.'
The row comes just three weeks after a senior Tory repeatedly failed to understand a Scottish MP's accent in an awkward encounter in the Commons.
The Plaid Cymru Mp Jonathan Edwards did not name which Tory MP was meant to have cruelly mocked him in Parliament (pictured, the Commons Chamber today)
Sir Paul Beresford was taking questions on behalf of the ruling Commons Commission when the embarrassing incident happened.
The SNP's David Linden, who represents Glasgow East, rose to ask Sir Paul whether the Parliamentary estate would be made more accessible for disabled people as part of the planned multi-billion pound restoration project.
But Mole Valley MP Sir Paul, who was born in New Zealand, said: 'I'm sorry, it must be something to do with my Antipodean background.
'Could he please repeat the question, because I didn't understand it.'
Amid laughter, a bemused Mr Linden tried again. But once again Sir Paul was unable to follow his words.
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/14/john-bercow-admits-he-has-bullied-mps-by-mimicking-their-accents/
Main photo article John Bercow today admitted that he has ‘bullied’ other MPs by mocking their accents in Parliament.
The Commons Speaker apologised for his mimicry, which he admitted could have caused offence to politicians.
He made the extraordinary admission today after Welsh MP Jonathan Edwards...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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