A SENIOR SNP MP has broken a so-called gagging order to speak out about the sexist bullying she says took place at her former job.
Hannah Bardell, the party’s culture spokeswoman, said she was the victim of “inappropriate comments” and sustained attempts to undermine her position.
She revealed one senior figure even told her women at the company dressed like prostitutes.
Ms Bardell said she was effectively forced out of work and was given six-months pay in return for signing a non-disclosure agreement, but had now chosen to break this.
It comes amid ongoing controversy over the use of NDAs, which some claim are being used by the wealthy to cover up bullying and harassment.
Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green allegedly used the contracts to stop former staff from making claims of harassment and racism.
Ms Bardell worked in the oil and gas industry before becoming the MP for Livingston in 2015.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, she said a senior figure at her old job had made a number of inappropriate comments.
In one example, he told her: “I don’t like the way that women dress in this company, in this country, with tops down to here, skirts up to here. They are dressed as if they are going out on the game.”
Ms Bardell said the comments were “demeaning and harassment”.
She called for NDAs to be scrapped in favour of narrower contracts covering intellectual property and commercially sensitive information.
She said: “The reality is they are being used as a cloak of invisibility. Powerful people are hiding behind them and abuses of power are being covered up.
“And that is not appropriate. That is not what they were designed for, and to be frank companies and businesses which have a poor culture and bad behaviour quite often end up in failure. So it’s in their interest that this legislation is changed.”
Asked if she would be prepared to hand back her pay-off, she said: “I would. I don’t think I should have to because I was put in such a difficult position and essentially unable to work for a period of time, but if it came to that I would.”
Earlier this year, it emerged the House of Commons had spent more than £2.4 million on gagging orders for former staff.
The issue was highlighted after bullying allegations were made again Speaker John Bercow.
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