A scandal with more twists than a parliamentary debate has rocked the House of Lords after Tory peer Catherine Meyer was recommended for a three-week suspension. Her offence? Referring to a British-Asian colleague as “Lord Poppadom” and touching an MP’s braids without permission. Cue outrage, protests, and an open letter defending her actions.
The Incident: What Did Meyer Do?
The Lords’ conduct committee upheld complaints against Meyer after she reportedly called Liberal Democrat peer Navnit Dholakia “Lord Poppadom” during a trip to Rwanda earlier this year. She first misnamed him “Lord Popat” – a slip she apologised for – but later, during a taxi ride, witnesses claimed she repeated the comment in what’s been described as an unfortunate mix of wine and bad judgement.
To make matters worse, Meyer admitted touching Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s braids without consent, dismissing it as a “friendly gesture”. Reflecting on it later, she said: “Oh, gosh, I did the wrong thing.”
Defending Meyer: Letters and Outrage
Not everyone agrees with the punishment. A group of 27 Lords, including Michael Forsyth and cross-bencher Ruth Deech, have written to The Telegraph claiming Meyer’s treatment goes against “natural justice”. They argued that the investigation process is flawed, overly punitive, and lacks transparency.
They wrote: “There is no entitlement to cross-examination, even when the facts are disputed and occurred a long time ago. The allegation needs to be proved only on a balance of probabilities.”
Their point? These things should have been settled “privately and amicably”, as they allegedly were in the past.
The Report’s Verdict
Despite the pushback, the Lords commissioner for standards upheld the harassment complaints, citing the racial element as a “significant aggravating factor”. Meyer’s three-week suspension comes with a recommendation for specialist behaviour training – the parliamentary equivalent of detention and extra homework.
A Question of Modern Standards
The group defending Meyer suggested parliamentary procedures haven’t caught up with today’s “publicity inside and outside parliament”. They’re calling for a review of how such complaints are handled, arguing that reputations are being damaged disproportionately.
But let’s be clear: calling someone “Lord Poppadom” after a few glasses of wine isn’t just “robust exchange” – it’s the kind of behaviour that lands you in trouble whether you’re in the Lords or your local pub.
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