Labour suspends peer over sexual harassment allegations after he ‘cornered Parliamentary staff, touched them and said he hoped the Upskirting Bill would contain photos’
- Four harassment complaints have been upheld against Lord Stone of Blackheath
- They included allegations of unwanted physical contact and personal remarks
- Lord Stone was described ‘a bit creepy’ and made staff feel ‘uncomfortable’
Lord Stone of Blackheath (pictured with his daughter) has been suspended from the Labour party
A Labour peer has been suspended by the party over allegations he sexually harassed parliamentary staff and joked that he hoped the Upskirting Bill would ‘contain photos’.
The Lords Commissioner for Standards, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, upheld four complaints about the conduct of Lord Stone of Blackheath, a former joint managing director of Marks and Spencer.
They included allegations of unwanted physical contact, personal remarks about the appearance of female staff, and transphobic comments.
Female staff said that Lord Stone cornered them in Parliament’s secluded corridors, before stroking their arms and commenting on their looks.
The staff described Lord Stone as ‘a bit creepy’ and said he made them feel ‘uncomfortable, angry and anxious’.
In another case, he is alleged to have made transphobic comments, before using the racial slur ‘n*****’ to defend himself.
He is believed to have taken a guest to sign a pledge about tackling transphobic abuse, barged to the front of the queue and said: ‘Where does he sign? He wants the operation. Is this where he signs up for the trans operation, he wants to be trans?’
When questioned, Lord Stone told the watchdog he meant no offence.
He added: ‘I wouldn’t call somebody a n***** in, like, in an aggressive way.
‘But let us say I was at some meeting, which I often am, particularly in Israel with black people or whatever, I would say, ‘We are all n*****s, I am’ – what do you call it – ‘an honorary n*****’, yes.
The Lords Commissioner for Standards, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, upheld the complaints
‘And they would say, ‘Yes, Andrew is just as n***** as we are’ … but people feel that if you are not trans or if you are not gay, or if you are not lesbian, then you are not part of that group and therefore you can’t speak in an open way.
‘No, I feel I am part of that group. I am heterosexual. There are people who are gay, there are people who are lesbian and I feel there is no difference between all of us.’
The case was dealt with by way of ‘remedial action’ with Lord Stone agreeing to take part in a course of ‘bespoke training and behaviour coaching sessions’.
A Labour Lords spokesman said: ‘The chief whip has informed Lord (Andrew) Stone that he is suspended from the Labour peers group until further notice.
‘Further discussions will be had with Andrew once he has completed the training and coaching recommended by the commissioner.’