A Tory peer and close personal ally of Boris Johnson has been suspended from the Lords and banned from the bars in parliament after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk.
The House of Lords Conduct Committee recommended that Lord Kulveer Ranger who was ennobled by the former prime minister in 2023, be suspended from the Lords for three weeks and barred from parliament’s drinking establishments for a year.
According to the committee’s report, Lord Ranger, 49,, while “visibly drunk” made “various inappropriate comments” to two complainants, who worked on the parliamentary estate.
During two separate encounters within an hour of each other, the Conservative attempted to engage them in conversation, with the latter meeting ending in him acting “aggressively, shouting and swearing at the complainants”, calling them “f**king useless”, and invading their personal space “in a way they found threatening”.
He was eventually asked to leave the bar by others who were drinking in the establishment.
Lord Ranger did not dispute the findings of the report, and has apologised to the complainants in the case, saying he was “deeply mortified at the descriptions of my behaviour” and “saddened to hear that I caused you any distress”.
In its report the committee said it acknowledged Lord Ranger’s acceptance of the commissioner’s findings and his apology, but added: “We were struck by the seriousness of the incident itself, including the aggravating factors of Lord Ranger’s alcohol intake and the power imbalance between him and the complainants.
“We were also struck by the significant impact of the incident upon the complainants, as described in their evidence to the commissioner.”
The Conservative was a surprise inclusion in Mr Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list, but he had become a close ally to the former prime minister having worked closely with him during his time as mayor of London.
Lord Ranger helped run Mr Johnson’s transport agenda after he was appointed director of transport policy at London’s City Hall.
He was selected for a life peerage alongside Charlotte Owen, who was just 30 at the time, and Ross Kempsell, who was only 31.
The honours list was mired in controversy after a peerage was due to be handed out to Nadine Dorries having stood down as an MP, but was blocked at the last minute.
Ms Dorries claimed her peerage was blocked by Rishi Sunak and his team, a claim disputed by No 10.
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