A Conservative MP in Shropshire has been ordered to apologise after being found guilty of bullying parliamentary staff.

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, was found to be in breach of Parliament's Bullying and Harassment Policy over a number of incidents which took place in April 2020.

The House of Commons Independent Expert Panel(IEP) upheld an earlier decision by the panel in March that he should make a public apology regarding a series of incidents, during which the MP allegedly "ranted" at staff over technical difficulties following an online parliamentary committee meeting.

In April 2020 two members of staff made a complaint against Mr Kawczynski of breaches of Parliament’s Bullying and Harassment Policy, alleging that he acted in a threatening, aggressive and intimidating way towards them and other Parliamentary staff after finding himself unable to join a virtual meeting.

In February the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards considered that the Respondent had acted in an intimidating and threatening manner, had abused his power as a Member of Parliament, and had made exaggerated and malicious claims as to the performance of the Complainants. She referred the case to the IEP, who ordered Mr Kawczynski to make an apology on the floor of the House by means of a personal statement.

In his appeal against the sanction, Mr Kawczynski said he was under a great deal of pressure having come under "repeated attack" from members of the public on the streets of his constituency.

"The Respondent is 6’9” tall and thus very conspicuous in the street, in his local shops. He found himself under repeated attack by members of the public on both these grounds," said the report.

"He emphasised to us how such attacks could be extremely vicious. Against that background, the advent of the pandemic added another layer of pressure."

Evidence presented as part of the appeal to the sanction heard that the MP had engaged with a clinical psychologist following the incident and, as one of the results, the two of them are writing a book on emotional intelligence.

However the sanction against which Mr Kawczynski had appealed, that he should have to make an apology in the House of Commons by way of a personal statement, was upheld.

"We fully grasp that the life of an MP can be highly pressurised, and we accept that the circumstances which arose on 27 April 2020 were difficult," said the report.

"But they were difficult for everyone, as common sense would have told the Respondent.

"The responsibilities and stresses of being an MP do not justify a loss of courtesy, an exaggerated sense of importance or entitlement, or bullying.

"Our conclusion is that the determination of a requirement to make a public apology on the floor of the House was proper and proportionate, and it is sustained.

"We have set out in a separate document for the Respondent the points that we require to be included in his apology."