Baroness faces Suspension for calling Asian Peer ‘Lord Poppadom’

Baroness Catherine Meyer is facing a three-week suspension from the Lords for calling a British Asian peer “Lord Poppadom”.

Baroness faces Supension for calling Asian Peer 'Lord Poppadom f

the comments had made him "very annoyed, very angry"

A baroness is facing a three-week suspension from the House of Lords for calling a British Asian peer “Lord Poppadom”.

Catherine Meyer also touched an MP’s braids without her permission.

She was found to have breached harassment rules for her behaviour towards Lord Dholakia and Bell Ribeiro-Addy during a visit to Rwanda with the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Lady Meyer is said to have called Lord Dholakia “Lord Poppadom” during a taxi journey, having previously apologised for mistakenly calling him “Lord Popat”, another peer.

She initially denied the allegation but after hearing witness evidence said the incident took place at the end of a long day after she had drunk “possibly three glasses of wine”.

Lord Dholakia said the comments had made him “very annoyed, very angry that people should use expressions of this particular nature”.

Parliament’s standards commissioner found that “on the balance of probabilities” she had used the phrase twice and that the harassment “related to race”.

In a separate incident on the same visit, Lady Meyer complimented Ms Ribeiro-Addy’s hair and asked her if she could touch it, without waiting for a reply or permission.

The committee said the facts of the incident were not disputed.

Ms Ribeiro-Addy said it made her feel “extremely uncomfortable” and “as if she could just do whatever she wanted”.

She said: “The idea that I would do that to another woman, particularly a white woman, ask her if it’s hers, ask to touch it and make a big deal out of it, it just wouldn’t happen.

“When you’ve seen it explained to people in the past why it’s offensive to touch black people’s – black women in particular – hair… I don’t have the right to protest because I’m seen as being rude or difficult, and it’s just not for me to have an issue with it… to me, it’s definitely a microaggression.”

Responding to Ms Ribeiro-Addy’s complaint, Lady Meyer said that she had intended a friendly gesture, and had been unaware that it would be unwelcome.

From the MP’s subsequent body language, she said she understood:

“Oh, gosh, I did the wrong thing”.

A three-week suspension from the Lords was recommended, with the commissioner describing the racial element in the first case as an “aggravating” factor, as well as for Lady Meyer to undertake “bespoke behaviour training”.

In a report, the Conduct Committee said: “We have carefully considered the Commissioner’s report and his proposed sanction.

“Taking all the relevant factors into account, we endorse his recommended sanction, and accordingly recommend to the House that Baroness Meyer be suspended from the service of the House for three weeks and that she undertake bespoke behaviour training.”

The commissioner had said: “Due to the significance of Baroness Meyer’s breach of the Code of Conduct and the impact of her behaviour on the complainants, I consider a short suspension to be justified in the circumstances.

“Accordingly, I recommend that Baroness Meyer be suspended from the House for three weeks.”

“In determining the length of suspension, I considered incident 1, where Baroness Meyer twice referred to Lord Dholakia as ‘Lord Poppadom’, to be the more serious of the two breaches, given the racial element to it.

“The recommended suspension is because of this breach.

“I also consider that behaviour training would be beneficial for Baroness Meyer, to address the specific behaviour in this case.

“I therefore recommend that Baroness Meyer undertake bespoke behaviour training provided by an approved external provider.”

Lead Editor Dhiren is our news and content editor who loves all things football. He also has a passion for gaming and watching films. His motto is to "Live life one day at a time".




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