Labour peer should be suspended for bullying security guard, watchdog says

Labour peer Lord Pendry should be suspended for a week for bullying a member of security staff, a standards watchdog has recommended.

The former junior minister, Tom Pendry, was found by an investigation to have been “verbally aggressive” and exhibited “intimidating behaviour” to the security guard who challenged an unescorted guest in Parliament.

Peers will be asked to approve the suspension from the House, recommended by the Lords’ Conduct Committee, in a vote when they return from a recess later this month.

The report conducted by barrister Akbar Khan, one of the Lords’ standards commissioners, concluded: “It is never acceptable to approach a member of staff in a threatening manner or to touch them without their consent.

“Lord Pendry’s comments about staff ‘flexing their muscles’ against MPs and peers exhibit an attitude which is out of step with the expectation that all members of the parliamentary community are entitled to be treated professionally and respectfully in the workplace, and to seek a remedy when they are not, in accordance with the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.”