Disgraced Delyn MP Rob Roberts loses a second female member of staff in three months

Disgraced Delyn MP Rob Roberts has lost a second female member of staff in the space of three months.

A woman who had worked in Roberts’ Westminster office since October 2020 has quit, taking a post with a female Conservative MP, the latest register of MPs staff reveals.

It comes after Nation.Cymru revealed in November how another female assistant, who had worked in his office for just over a year, had resigned to work for another MP.

Roberts, who has been readmitted to the Conservative party since his suspension for sexually harassing a member of his staff but not its parliamentary group, has now lost four staff since he was elected in December 2019.

The average length of service for an MP’s staff member is just over two years, according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Roberts’ staff have lasted between just four to fifteen months:

• Male staff member 1: February 2020 to June 2020
• Male staff member 2: April 2020 to September 2020
• Female staff member 3: September 2020 to October 2021
• Female staff member 4: October 2020 to December 2021

The first departure from Roberts’ office in June 2020 came shortly before it was revealed he had asked a male member of staff out for dinner. An investigation found Roberts had made “repeated and unwanted sexual advances”.

Separately, it was revealed he asked a female intern, who is not counted among the four members of permanent staff who have left, to “fool around” with him.

‘Go away’

The “staffing crisis” in Roberts’ office since the scandal led to him offering a salary of up to £52,067 – the highest amount permittable – to recruit his fifth member of staff in October last year, according to the Spectator.

“It’s no wonder he is having difficulties hiring people – the more surprising thing is the fact that he’s still an MP,” a former member of Roberts’ staff told the magazine.

The Delyn MP’s latest intervention in the Commons came during Monday’s heated debate over the Sue Gray report, when he offered full-throated support to the Prime Minister.

He said: “Delivery is key. The Prime Minister delivers. He delivered on Brexit. He delivered with furlough and with the self-employment income support scheme, which ensured that businesses were able to survive.”

However, Sun journalist Kate Ferguson wrote “not sure you want Rob Roberts in your corner”, while the Scotsman’s Westminster correspondent said: “Sorry but we don’t need to hear from Rob Roberts about anything, let alone what people should or shouldn’t be annoyed about. Go away.”