Who is Helen Harrison, Peter Bone’s girlfriend? MP’s suspension over s*xual misconduct claim triggers byelection in Wellingborough

Peter Bone, a 71-year-old Tory MP, was ousted from his position in the Parliament on December 19, 2023, following allegations of bullying and s*xual misconduct of his staff member in 2012. This suspension has caused the voters to trigger a byelection, where the Labour Party will get a chance to win back Wellingborough.

Gen Kitchen, a native of Northamptonshire, has been elected by the Labour Party to contest for the seat in Wellingborough. Following the news of his suspension and the corresponding byelection, Peter Bone released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on December 19, 2023.

According to the Mirror, Peter Bone is currently in a relationship with local councilor Helen Harrison since 2019. Harrison, a former parliament candidate and a conservative campaigner, was previously Bone's senior parliamentary assistant in 2019.

---

Peter Bone mentioned his partner more often than the cost of living during debates in Parliament: Report

According to the Mirror, Peter Bone has mentioned his girlfriend Helen Harrison at least 10 times in the House of Commons since 2014, as opposed to the two times he has talked about the cost of living.

Helen Harrison is a Tory campaigner and director of pro-Brexit campaign group Grassroots Out, along with Bone, The Sun reported. She also accompanied Bone to the taping of a Brexit debate at Millbank Studios in 2017.

Harrison's online profile states that she is married to Michael Harrison, a builder in Corby. They have two children together, aged 21 and 19. She also has her own physiotherapy company.

According to The Standard, Peter Bone and his ex-wife Jeanette Sweeney split up in 2016, after which he started a relationship with Harrison, who is 20 years younger than him. The Sun reported the two spending romantic nights at Bone's taxpayer-funded £1.5 million apartment.

Peter Bone was famous for mentioning his ex-wife in Parliament debates. According to The Standard, he has mentioned "Mrs Bone," as he calls her, in at least 60 debates since 2005. David Cameron and Theresa May have cracked multiple jokes about Mrs Bone. In 2011, David Cameron made a joke to Bone, saying:

"I feel that a very big part of my life is spent trying to give pleasure to Mrs Bone. On this occasion, I can go only so far."

---

Bone denies bullying and s*xual misconduct claims, says allegations are "totally untrue and without foundation"

In a statement posted on X, Peter Bone denies the allegations made by his former employee, stating:

"The recall petition came about as a result of an inquiry into alleged bullying and misconduct towards an ex-employee which was alleged to have occurred more than 10 years ago. These allegations are totally untrue and without foundation. I will have more to say on these matters in the new year.”

On October 16, 2023, Peter Bone was recommended to be suspended from the House of Commons for six weeks. This came after the Independent Expert Panel reported that he "committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of s*xual misconduct" against a male member of his staff.

As per The Guardian, the panel’s report found Bone had “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” a male member of his staff and “repeatedly physically struck and threw things” at him. The incidents occurred from September 2012 to January 2013, alleges the employee.

Bone also allegedly exposed his genitals near the man’s face during an overseas trip. Investigations launched into these allegations revealed that Bone broke the MPs’ code of conduct on four counts of bullying and one count of s*xual misconduct.

On October 17, 2023, Peter Bone lost the Conservative whip but continued to sit as an independent. However, the recall petition in Wellington removed him from his seat on December 19, 2023.

According to The Guardian, Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour Party, said that the byelections will give the voters of Wellingborough an “opportunity to vote for a fresh start.”

"The results of the recall petition demonstrate that Wellingborough is ready for change. The Conservative party has presided over 13 years of failure, not least in the ‘professionalism, integrity and accountability at all levels’ that Rishi Sunak promised,” she said.

The byelections are speculated to be held in February 2024.