MP assaults his girlfriend - should he remain in parliament?

MP assaults his girlfriend - should he remain in parliament?

Author
Discussion

BlackLabel

Original Poster:

13,251 posts

122 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
I'm all for giving people second chances in life however lawmakers should not be lawbreakers. The 'wife beater' should resign or be thrown out imo.

Telegraph said:
Tory MP David Ruffley under pressure to quit after saying he 'deeply regrets' attack on former partner

Former Tory police minister David Ruffley said "I don't condone domestic violence" in a statement after receiving police caution for assault on girlfriend


A Conservative MP who was cautioned by police for common assault against his former girlfriend has said he does not “condone” domestic violence.


David Ruffley, a former shadow policing minister, said he “deeply regrets” the incident and claimed his former partner had accepted his apology.


The assault was “inappropriate action”, he admitted.


It came as the Dean of the local Cathedral urged Michael Gove, the Conservative chief whip, to take action against Ruffley, alleging that he had a “rage” and had left his victim “wincing” in pain.


The MP for Bury St Edmunds now faces deselection by his local constituency party.

Bury Fawcett Society, a women’s rights group, have called for the MP to be dropped at the next election.

Ruffley was arrested on suspicion of common assault at a house in Pimlico, central London, in March. He was taken to a police station and accepted a caution. It was reported he had spent “a night in the cells”.

In a statement last night he said: "In March this year, an incident occurred between me and my former partner, resulting in inappropriate action on my part, which I deeply regret, in respect of which I accepted a police caution for common assault."

"Some time later, I telephoned my former partner to apologise.

"I am pleased to be able to say that she has accepted my apology. I have refrained from making any public statement on this matter as it is a deeply personal matter.

"It is my understanding that my former partner wishes the incident to remain private."

"I wish to stress that I would never condone domestic violence under any circumstances."

"The incident was dealt with by the police and I accepted responsibility for my actions at the time.

"I regret this matter in its entirety and the position in which I put my former partner and I now ask that her privacy be respected."

In a leaked letter, the Very Revd Dr Frances Ward, the Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, told Ruffley he had lost the confidence of his supporters and his position is “untenable”.

The letter, copied to Lord Tebbit, the Tory Peer, Michael Gove, the Tory chief Whip, and the local police Chief Constable, urged Ruffley to “seek professional guidance about your health and wellbeing.”

She claimed Ruffley gave a “lengthy justification and defence” of his actions and described it as a “little local incident”.

“When I visited [the victim] in March a day or so after the event and went to hug her as my usual greeting, she winced in obvious pain. She told me as a friend and her priest of the events of the evening that led to your arrest, and how frightened she had been of your rage and violent behaviour.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: "The issue was dealt with at the time by the police."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10987770/Tory-MP-David-Ruffley-under-pressure-to-quit-after-saying-he-deeply-regrets-attack-on-former-partner.html

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Should he remain? No. Thugs, racists, people who hate the disabled. No place for them in Parliament. But there would be so few left if we did that I think.

Pesty

42,655 posts

255 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Caution? Is that what you get for domestic assault these days.

muffinmenace

1,029 posts

187 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
What actually transpired? Oh we have no idea, just bit and pieces...

carinaman

21,224 posts

171 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
1. We don't know what happened. 2. Organisations that are supposedly against such abuse are quite capable of abusing their own staff and denying it.

TheSnitch

2,342 posts

153 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
Should he remain in Parliament?

Hmm, I'm not sure.....

What's his star sign?

Steffan

10,362 posts

227 months

Sunday 27th July 2014
quotequote all
I do not think any MP cautioned for such a crime can be allowed to remain in parliament. There can never be any excuse for domestic violence or indeed any violence against another person whatsoever. His career should be ended and I think it will be. Women who are threatened and beaten in this way very often remain cowed mentally fot years afterwards. It is a despicable crime of a bully within the security of someone elses home This is a disgraceful act by a disgraced man who should do the decent thing and resign. The fact that he wishes to continue in Public Office despite this crime shows the kind of man he is.

davepoth

29,395 posts

198 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Steffan said:
I do not think any MP cautioned for such a crime can be allowed to remain in parliament. There can never be any excuse for domestic violence or indeed any violence against another person whatsoever. His career should be ended and I think it will be. Women who are threatened and beaten in this way very often remain cowed mentally fot years afterwards. It is a despicable crime of a bully within the security of someone elses home This is a disgraceful act by a disgraced man who should do the decent thing and resign. The fact that he wishes to continue in Public Office despite this crime shows the kind of man he is.
The problem is that assault covers a huge range of possibilities. Since it could be an offence of assault even if no injury occurs, and the police considered a night in the cells and a caution to be a suitable "sentence", we can assume he did not punch her in the face repeatedly. My guess is that he grabbed her rather roughly by the arm or similar, she was upset by it, and called the police. The police took what IMO looks to be appropriate action for a one-off, relatively minor episode of violence and locked him up so he could have a good think about what he had done.

As to whether he should go, I think this illustrates the need for recall powers. In truth, the only people who should be empowered to make this decision are the people who put him into parliament in the first place.

Mr_B

10,480 posts

242 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Funny old thing, aint it ? If he'd have made a joke about her being a slut , all over the news for days. Assault ? Meh.

BJG1

5,966 posts

211 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
The same David Ruffley who gets through a parliamentary assistant on a monthly basis because he's so horrible to them that they quit so frequently?

Nasty piece of work

Pommygranite

14,229 posts

215 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
TheSnitch said:
Should he remain in Parliament?

Hmm, I'm not sure.....

What's his star sign?
Cancer.


steveatesh

4,893 posts

163 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Steffan said:
I do not think any MP cautioned for such a crime can be allowed to remain in parliament. There can never be any excuse for domestic violence or indeed any violence against another person whatsoever. His career should be ended and I think it will be. Women who are threatened and beaten in this way very often remain cowed mentally fot years afterwards. It is a despicable crime of a bully within the security of someone elses home This is a disgraceful act by a disgraced man who should do the decent thing and resign. The fact that he wishes to continue in Public Office despite this crime shows the kind of man he is.
I agree with your sentiments here Steffan. I dare say most people would. But strangely I read a thread on mumsnet ( followed a link from here and had a browse around while therewhistle ) in which the femal OP was asking the sisters for advice about her relationship with her hubby ( as most if them seem to). Anyway, during her post she admitted assaulting her hubby by slapping him in the face. This was apparently because he was shouting at her. Non of the sisters condemned her for it and as usual he was the abuser.

So I guess it's ok on Mumsnet.

eccles

13,721 posts

221 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
BJG1 said:
The same David Ruffley who gets through a parliamentary assistant on a monthly basis because he's so horrible to them that they quit so frequently?

Nasty piece of work
He doesn't come across as a very nice person and he's also battling his own demons. I seem to recall he 'accidentally' fell under a train at a station in London, some saw it as a failed suicide attempt (even though he denied it was such), and he's been treated for mental health problems since. When this event happened he didn't make any public statements, just friends on his behalf. Same as with this assault charge, he's been asked to comment on it for over a week, but had been silent until it was obvious it wasn't going away. The local Conservative association are using very careful language in their statements about him.

freakybacon

549 posts

162 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all

carinaman

21,224 posts

171 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
More Laws?

They love creating legislation don't they!

Getragdogleg

8,737 posts

182 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
carinaman said:
More Laws?

They love creating legislation don't they!
Its what they know, they are not real people with real life experiences.

grumbledoak

31,504 posts

232 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
That's just someone equally unpleasant attempting an opportunistic twist of the knife. No shock.

Should he remain? Hard to say, as we don't really know what he did. He should get exactly the same treatment as any other member of society for the same acts (whatever they were).

Steffan

10,362 posts

227 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
In this case as in all cautions the MP involved must have admitted the offence. I accept that some women are guilty of domestic violence. In my case I could understand it, although it has never happened in 5 marriages I have had (and enjoyed) because I am undoubtedly a nightmare to live with not unlike Ghengis Khahn apparently. But no woman has ever accused me of domestic violence because I have never been violent in a relationship and never wanted to personally. Condescending, supercilious, bombastic, pompous, conceited selfish and unreasonable are common words used to describe my by former partners. Probably has not helped that I regard these as my strengths But, never, ever, violent.

I do not think there should be any acceptance of domestic violence whatsoever on any occasion whatsoever just as there should be no acceptance of child abuse whatsoever. It is an odious act and deserves punishment on every occasion. Totally outside my level of civilised behaviour and I therefore condem it and it's perpetrators totally.

ATG

20,485 posts

271 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
freakybacon said:
John Humphreys tore chunks or of her argument on the Today programme this morning. Good listening.

Negative Creep

24,942 posts

226 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
ATG said:
freakybacon said:
John Humphreys tore chunks or of her argument on the Today programme this morning. Good listening.
I notice there's not a single reference to men who suffer domestic abuse in that article