AN SNP MP was cut off from raising the “appalling” treatment of a black domestic abuse campaigner at Buckingham Palace during a House of Commons session on Thursday.
Brendan O’Hara, the party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson, was interrupted by the deputy speaker as he tried to address the treatment of Sistah Space founder Ngozi Fulani.
Fulani spoke out on Wednesday to express her shock over her treatment by the late Queen Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting and Prince William’s godmother, Lady Susan Hussey.
According to the campaigner, Hussey repeatedly asked where she was “really” from. Despite the uproar over the incident, Fulani said on Thursday afternoon that she has not yet been approached by Buckingham Palace to discuss the incident.
Describing how Lady Susan also touched her hair during the incident, she said: “I was stood next to two other women – black women – and she just made a beeline for me, and she took my locks and moved it out of the way so that she could see my name badge.
“That’s a no-no. I wouldn’t put my hands in someone’s hair, and culturally it’s not appropriate.”
But when O’Hara tried to address the situation in Westminster as MPs discussed a new law allowing Princess Anne and Prince Edward to stand in for the King at royal engagements, he was quickly stopped by deputy speaker Nigel Evans.
Speaking in the Commons, O’Hara said: “On the theme of modernisation, I suspect that many people will be asking, what is the point of us examining how we can modernise or help the monarchy modernise when certain parts of the institution seem stuck in the past.
“And the treatment last week of Ngozi Fulani at Buckingham Palace was appalling. And I’m delighted that the Prince of Wales…”
Commons Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans cut him off and asked him to “focus on that legislation please”.
O’Hara continued after the intervention: “I think modernisation is absolutely vital, but the institution must help itself to modernise, and this bill is part of helping the institution to modernise. We will support that as it goes through today.”
Earlier in this speech, O’Hara had urged the Government to come up with a “more robust and enduring” way to deal with the appointment of counsellors of state, saying the bill provides “temporary solutions to the constraint of the Regency Acts which says that counsellors of state are the spouse of the monarch and the first four in the line of succession”.
He said much had changed since the Regency Act 1937 and questioned whether more royal duties could not be carried out digitally.
He said: “And if this bill is about improving procedures and ensuring good administrative practise, then we should be looking to the future and embracing that technology to find a much better solution rather than simply looking back to 1937 to a time when the telegram was the fastest means of communication and the ocean liner the quickest means of international travel.
“So could the minister tell me, is there a barrier to stop the King signing documents by means of an electronic signature? What is there to prevent formal royal correspondence being done via email?
“And is there any legal impediment to the monarch appearing via a video link to join a meeting of the Privy Council. I don’t see why any of that should be controversial.”
Earlier in the debate, Conservative former Cabinet minister Michael Ellis had told the Commons: “Not everything can or should be done via online media platforms. The functions of the monarch sometimes do require physical presence. Often, they do.
“Either for important legal reasons of state or for ceremonial reasons. As I say, not everything can or should be done via email. Parliament has itself set these requirements, and for good reason.”
The Counsellors of State Bill cleared the Commons on Thursday after a series of unopposed readings by MPs and now moves a step closer to becoming law.
Following Fulani's claims, a top lawyer has alleged that Lady Susan similarly questioned his heritage.
Nazir Afza said that "she asked me my heritage once and seemed to accept my answer – Manchester currently!", adding: "Racism is never far away though."
I was at the Buckingham Palace reception at which Lady Hussey questioned the heritage of a brilliant DV expert Ngozi Fulani She only asked me my heritage once & seemed to accept my answer - Manchester currently! Racism is never far away tho
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) November 30, 2022
Afza says the incident occurred at the same Buckingham Palace event which was at the centre of Fulani's allegations.
