House speaker steps down

Australia’s parliament speaker said he was temporarily stepping down over a sexual harassment lawsuit which threatens to further weaken Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s hold on power.

Speaker Peter Slipper issued a statement “emphatically” denying all allegations against him by a male former staff member, who says the speaker sexually harassed him.

But Slipper said he could not continue in his role pending investigation of the allegations in a suit filed in Australia’s Federal Court in Sydney on Friday.