A baroness is facing three weeks’ suspension from the House of Lords after calling a peer of Asian heritage “Lord Poppadom” and touching a black MP’s braids without permission.
Baroness Catherine Meyer was accused of referring to Lord Dholakia as “Lord Poppadom” twice during a taxi journey while on a visit to Rwanda in February with Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), of which she was then a member.
On the same trip, she complimented Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s hair and asked if she could touch it. Without waiting for a reply, Lady Meyer then lifted up one of Ms Ribeiro-Addy’s braids, a Lords’ Conduct Committee report said.
Lady Meyer – the 71-year-old widow of former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer – initially claimed the “Lord Poppadom” accusations were “unfounded” and “baseless”. But after evidence from two witnesses, she admitted the alleged incident took place at the end of a long day and after a dinner where she had drunk “possibly three glasses of wine”. She then acknowledged: “It is possible I said it, but I don’t remember.”
Lady Meyer did not deny the incident with Ms Ribeiro-Addy but insisted she had intended it as a friendly gesture and had been “entirely unaware” it would be unwelcome. “Oh gosh, I did the wrong thing,” she conceded immediately after understanding the MP’s body language.
The report said Lady Meyer had earlier called Lord Dholakia “Lord Popat” – another House of Lords member of South Asian heritage – and had instantly apologised.
But then other members of the party said she had referred to him as Lord Poppadom twice while he was present in the taxi, although he had not heard.
When told of her remarks, Lord Dholakia – a Liberal Democrat life peer – said he felt “shocked” , “very uncomfortable” and that he could not continue as a member of the JCHR alongside her.
The Conduct Committee concluded there was no abuse of power so Lady Meyer’s behaviour towards Lord Dholakia did not constitute bullying. It was, however, harassment related to race.
As for Ms Ribeiro-Addy, the “lasting impact” on her was “apparent from her complaint” – and Lady Meyer touching her hair without permission was “humiliating and degrading”. This counted as harassment because it was unwanted, violated her dignity and was reasonably perceived as harassment by the MP. But the Committee also said that Lady Meyer showed remorse and a willingness to apologise and had no malicious or racist intention.
It therefore recommended she be suspended from the Lords for three weeks owing to the racial element of the first incident, and undergo “bespoke behaviour training” for both.
More on this story here.
