Jane Merrick

"It was here that [[Michael Fallon|[Michael] Fallon]] lunged at me. This was not a farewell peck on the cheek, but a direct lunge at my lips. When I have previously written about this incident (referring to an unnamed MP) I have described it as a "kiss" – but a kiss suggests something romantic, consensual. This was anything but. I shrank away in horror and ran off to my office in the press gallery. I felt humiliated, ashamed. Was I even guilty that maybe I had led him on in some way by drinking with him? After years of having a drink with so many other MPs who have not acted inappropriately towards me, I now know I was not."

"[I]n the ensuing coverage the impression was being left that this was a one-off incident that could now be laughed off. I knew that by failing to act I was letting down not only my 29-year-old self, but also any other women who may have been subjected to the same behaviour since. More importantly, I would be failing to protect other women in future."