Britain | Pestminster, a history

The House of Commons has a long history of sexual misconduct

Fixing the culture of Parliament is not easy

Demonstrators protest against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in London, Britain July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

When the school nurse walked into the London schoolroom in 1815, she found the member of Parliament for Barnstaple already there. Sir Eyre Coote was distinguished by a history of public service and a surpassing fondness for flagellation. He had popped into the school that day to pay the young boys to flog him. The nurse arrived as Coote was buttoning up his breeches. Scandal duly ensued and, in the words of Robert Morrison, a historian, Coote became “the most infamous Regency flagellant”.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Men behaving badly”

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