A NEW grievance procedure for MPs deemed to have been abusive or bullying towards their staff will face “real sanctions”, according to the government yesterday.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has vowed that punishments, such as suspension from Parliament and the possibility of an MP being sacked by their own constituents using recall powers, would be dealt out.

She revealed the measures after a survey of Westminster staff found dozens of parliamentary aides have faced bullying at work while four women said they had been victims of sexual assault.

Staff working for MPs hit out at the “sexist, laddish, misogynistic” culture in Parliament where there was a “toxic” mixture of alcohol and power.

Eighteen women and one man claimed to have been victims of sexual harassment while working in the Palace of Westminster.

Three women, all in their 20s, and one woman in her 50s said they had been victims of sexual assault.

One claimed she had been assaulted by a former MP, another by a visitor to an MP and a third by a Commons employee.

None chose to report the assault, one because she felt she would not be believed and feared for her job and the others because they did not think it was serious enough.

The findings are from a BBC Radio 5 survey carried out following a series of claims about MPs’ behaviour and the culture at Westminster in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood.

Ms Leadsom chairs a cross-party working group looking at how to respond to the allegations.

She told the broadcaster that the outcome of a complaint under the new grievance procedure would “absolutely not just be an apology”.

The BBC sent 1,500 questionnaires to staff working for MPs and received 166 responses.

Some 39 people said they had experienced bullying at Westminster, including 24 by the MP they worked for, but only a third had complained.

One man in his 30s said: “I felt it would look professionally incompetent and compromise the masculine environment across Westminster.”

Another in his 20s said: “The nature of Parliament means if one complains about their MP’s behaviour your job is gone.”

But other members of staff were more positive about the experience of working at Westminster, describing it as “courteous”, “respectful” and “fascinating”.

“It’s not the den of sexual depravity the media want it to be,” one said.

[I’ve contacted Unite Parliamentary rep for comment, could come in as late as 5.30pm, or not. If so then I’ll email it by then]