A peer is set to be suspended from House of Lords bars for 12 months after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk.
Kulveer Ranger has resigned the government whip after the House of Lords conduct committee also recommended that he be suspended from the house for three weeks.
The committee’s report said Lord Ranger, a former adviser to Boris Johnson who was rewarded in the former prime minister’s resignation honours list last year, “acted aggressively, shouting and swearing”, calling a group of people “fucking useless”, in parliament’s Strangers’ Bar in January.
The report said Ranger had been “visibly drunk” and made “various inappropriate comments” before “invading their personal space”.
Ranger apologised to the two complainants, saying he did not recall the incident but was “deeply mortified at the descriptions of my behaviour”.
A witness recalled seeing the two complainants “trying to calm Lord Ranger down throughout but he was intoxicated and only getting more aggressive”.
Ranger had asked the group if a publication was “a porn magazine”, before trying to hold one of their hands.
Another witness recalled overhearing Ranger tell the complainants to “think about who they might be fucking talking to” and that they should “do their fucking research”.
He was seen grabbing the parliamentary passes the complainants were wearing around their necks in an “aggressive” manner, before asking who they worked for.
The Lords standards commissioner had originally recommended that Ranger be suspended for one week but the conduct committee increased the sanction after finding his behaviour “particularly serious”.
The suggested sanction needs to be approved by peers, who are expected to vote on the recommendations in June.
The committee considered the “significant impact” Ranger’s actions had on both complainants as an aggravating factor alongside the peer’s insistence that he was not “very drunk” despite not being able to “recall any of his interaction with the complainants”.
One complainant said the incident had made her “more wary about her interactions with people” and left her with trouble sleeping.
Ranger said it was a “wholly uncharacteristic outburst” at a time when his wife and children’s health issues had “taken a significant toll” on his physical and mental health.
A member of staff at the parliamentary bar recalled seeing Ranger arrive with MPs and other guests, who had drinks upon arrival paid for by MPs while the peer was at the bar, before he “tried to order some shots”. At this point it had been “decided that Lord Ranger should not be served any more alcohol”.
The report said “cases like these understandably cause great reputational damage and undermine public confidence in parliament. Members of the parliamentary community should be able to socialise without being subjected to bullying behaviour by a member of the house who is significantly under the influence of alcohol.”
House of Commons authorities have also been invited to implement a similar ban for its own facilities.
A spokesperson from the government whips’ office said: “The House of Lords conduct committee is responsible for investigating breaches of the House of Lords code of conduct. The complaint in question was promptly brought to the attention of the committee, which has conducted an independent investigation.
“Lord Ranger has resigned the government whip and apologised for his actions, which were an unacceptable breach of the standards of the house, and of parliament. The committee has recommended a sanction, which should be respected.”
