At the height of the Brexit drama, John Bercow was so popular that even foreigners saw his theatrical “Order!

Order!” shouts as a ringtone on their cell phones.

The then Speaker of the House was considered one of the bright lights of the anti-Brexit movement - but now his dark side has been illuminated.

After almost two years of investigations and interviews with dozens of witnesses, an ethics committee and an appeals committee came to the conclusion that Bercow not only repeatedly bullied his employees, but also worked with false accusations and untruths in the proceedings.

He should never again have access to the British Parliament, it said.

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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First, a commission under the jurisdiction of official Kathryn Stone, which also investigated the lockdown party allegations against Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had confirmed numerous allegations against the former speaker of Parliament.

According to the report, Bercow regularly intimidated, humiliated and threatened his employees.

He aped them, insulted them with foul language and exposed them to subordinates.

In one of his tantrums, he threw a cell phone on a table with such force that it shattered into pieces.

A judge-led panel of experts, which Bercow later appealed to, has now confirmed the results of the investigation and also described him as a "serial liar".

Bercow, who switched to the Labor Party after leaving the House of Commons and has since been kicked out of the party, sees himself as the victim of a "set up".

He claims the results of the investigations have not stood up in any court.

"Calling this a kangaroo dish would offend kangaroos greatly," he said.

However, his allegations go unnoticed, even among former admirers.

Both the plaintiffs, all high-ranking parliamentary officials, and the investigators are respected and are by no means suspected of being involved in a "political vendetta" (Bercow).

One of the witnesses, Lt. Gen. David Leakey, this week called for the 59-year-old Bercow never to be offered a public position again.

In his eleven years in office, he did everything

to prevent allegations of bullying from being clarified in Parliament.

In addition, Bercow has not yet dropped "a word of remorse" to anyone.

For a number of years, Leakey was the "Black Rod" and thus the Queen's representative in Parliament.

After leaving the House of Commons at the end of 2019, Bercow had been under discussion as a possible Labor Party candidate for post-Sadiq Khan mayor of London, before the party parted with its newcomer according to the first investigation results.

Bercow currently holds positions as Chancellor of the University of Essex and Professor of Political Science at London University Royal Holloway.

Bercow is the first Speaker of the House in a very long time not to be rewarded with a seat in the House of Lords.

Commentators recalled that Bercow's undoing was not just his conduct, but also his partisan leadership of an office that was committed to neutrality.