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A Tory baroness is facing a three-week ban from the House of Lords for calling an Asian peer “Lord Poppadom”.
Lady Meyer also left a Black Labour MP “distressed” and “very upset” after touching her hair.
The two incidents happened during a visit to Rwanda by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) in February.
Martin Jelley, the Lords Commissioner for Standards, carried out an investigation into two complaints of harassment against Lady Meyer, who is the widow of Sir Christopher Meyer, the UK’s former ambassador to Washington.
A report published today by parliament’s conduct committee said during the trip, Lady Meyer referred to fellow committee member Lord Dholakia as “Lord Popat”, another peer of south Asian heritage.
“She immediately apologised and the matter seemed to be closed, but it was then reported to Lord Dholakia by other members of the party that she had subsequently twice referred to him as ‘Lord Poppadom’ during a taxi journey in which he was present,” the report said.
“Although he did not hear these remarks at the time, he heard the response of others who were in the taxi, and it is clear from his evidence to the Commissioner that following the visit the allegations were widely discussed within the committee.
“Lord Dholakia felt ‘shocked’ and ’very uncomfortable, and stated in his complaint that he felt he could not continue as a member of the JCHR alongside Lady Meyer.”
Martin Jelley concluded that the phrase “Lord Poppadom” related to Lord Dholakia’s race, and that the harassment therefore related to race.
After initially denying the accusation, Lady Meyer admitted that it had happened at the end of a long day and a dinner at which she had drunk “possibly three glasses of wine”.
“It is possible I said it, but I don’t remember,” she said.
The report said that in a separate incident during the Rwanda visit, Lady Meyer asked Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy if she could touch her hair.
“Without waiting for a reply or for permission Lady Meyer then reached out and lifted one of Ms Ribeiro-Addy’s braids,” the report said.
“The lasting impact of this incident upon Ms Ribeiro-Addy, and of events during the visit more generally, is apparent from her complaint.
“Not only did she feel uncomfortable in the moment, but her discomfort and anger increased over time.”
The MP said: “With every week and every request to just write my complaint I grew angrier and more distressed about the situation. Unable to put the complaint into words without becoming very upset.”
Lady Meyer said that she had intended it to be a friendly gesture, but then realised she had done “the wrong thing”.
In his report, the standards commissioner for said: “It is clear from both Lord Dholakia’s and Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s complaints and interviews that the incident had a significant negative effect on each of them.
“The incident clearly upset them both, to the point where neither felt comfortable being a member of the same committee as Baroness Meyer.”
The standards commissioner “concluded that her actions met all the tests required to reach a finding of harassment”.
The committee said it agreed with the standards commissioner’s recommendation that Baroness Meyer should be suspended from the Lords for three weeks and also undergo behaviour training.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The House of Lords conduct committee is responsible for investigating breaches of the House of Lords code of conduct. They have conducted an independent investigation.
“Baroness Meyer has apologised for the distress caused to the complainants. The committee has recommended what they consider to be the appropriate sanction.”
HuffPost UK has approached Baroness Meyer for comment.
