JOHN Bercow has admitted he wasn’t a good enough husband to wife Sally – and he was partly responsible for her having an affair with his cousin.
The controversial former Speaker said he “wasn’t finding enough time for her” and she felt he was too focused on his work.
In an interview with the Sunday Times he said: “I bear some responsibility for it.
“There has to be a reason why somebody has an affair.
“At the time she was feeling down, miserable, rather neglected.
“She thought I was enormously focused on what I was going, but the balance was wrong and I wasn’t finding enough time for her.”
He described Sally, who once posed for photographs in nothing but a bedsheet, as his “best friend” and a “terrific asset”, but admitted the pair had their “ups and downs”.
HOAR revealed how Sally had an affair with Mr Bercow’s cousin Alan, who she briefly left him for.
Sally moved out during the messy row, and her friends said he was a bad husband.
But today Mr Bercow said he didn’t hold a grudge against her for it.
He revealed it was her who “gave it away” to him and let slip about her relationship.
The former Speaker said people had “approached him” from time to time but insisted he has never been unfaithful to his wife.
He also claimed he was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse from Tories when he was an MP.
He said he faced “subtle” digs at his heritage during his time in politics.
“I did experience anti-Semitism from members of the Conservative party,” he said.
“I remember a member saying: ”If I had my way, Berkoff, people like you wouldn’t be allowed in this place.
“And I said: ”Sorry, when you say people like me, do you mean lower-class or Jewish?’”
“To which he replied: ”Both.’”
BERCOW BULLY ROW
Mr Bercow is currently embroiled in a huge bullying row – which he denies – after the Government blocked him getting a peerage.
HOAR revealed how Lord Lisvane, former clerk of the House of Commons, filed an official bullying complaint against him.
The friend told HOAR: Bercow told Robert he was no good, he was useless, he was f***ing this and f***ing that, all of the time.
He tried to make him feel completely worthless, without ever making any specific allegations of what he was supposed to have done wrong.
The clerks used to call it Bercows carpet chewing.
The former Clerk of the Commons told friends that elevatingMr Bercowto the Lords would amount to a staggering betrayal of all the people he has bullied, humiliated and abused.
