A baroness is facing suspension from the House of Lords for twice calling a peer of South Asian heritage "Lord Poppadom" and touching a Black London MP's hair without permission.
Lady Catherine Meyer was accused of referring to Lord Dholakia as "Lord Poppadom" during a taxi ride while on a visit to Rwanda with parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) in February.
During the same visit, she complimented Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy's hair and asked if she could touch it.
However, without waiting for a reply Lady Meyer lifted up one of the Clapham and Brixton Hill MP's braids, a conduct report released on Thursday said.
She did not deny she had touched Ms Ribeiro-Addy's hair without permission but added that it was meant as a friendly gesture and she had been "entirely unaware" it would not be welcome, the report said.
The Conduct Commissioner added that while there was "no racial element" it should be highlighted the "humiliating and degrading connotations of touching a black woman’s hair without her consent".
Ms Ribeiro-Addy said: "So often we are told we make too much of it.
“The historical nature of Black people being owned, touched and experimented on is one [issue].
“This type of behaviour has always emphasised the idea that white hair is the norm and Black hair is a novelty, and that we can be singled out and treated differently … feeling like you can’t say ‘no’ and must just laugh it off, as I did, and as I have done countless times before.”
The report said Lady Meyer initially called Lord Dholakia "Lord Popat" - appearing to confuse him with another member of the House of Lords of South Asian heritage - and immediately apologised.
But other members of the JCHR trip said they had heard her call the Lib Dem peer "Lord Poppadom" on two occasions, while he was present. But he had not heard the comments.
Members of the committee were discussing it and Lord Dholakia said he felt "shocked" and "very uncomfortable".
Lady Meyer initially said the "Lord Poppadom" accusations were "unfounded" and "baseless".
But the Commissioner concluded "on the balance of probabilities, that Lady Meyer had indeed twice referred to Lord Dholakia as 'Lord Poppadom'" and "did not appeal against that finding".
Ms Riberio-Addy was one of two witnesses and submitted a complaint alongside evidence about the hair touching incident.
The complaints committee said that as there was no abuse or misuse of power, Lady Meyer's behaviour did not constitute bullying.
It added that a “key mitigating factor was Lady Meyer’s remorse and willingness to apologise to the complainants”.
However the behaviour was unwanted and unwarranted, the report found.
It has been recommended that the 71-year-old be suspended from the House of Lords for three weeks, and that she undertake bespoke behaviour training.
