Lord Stone of Blackheath warned over harassment claims

An ex-Labour peer has been warned he faces a “extreme sanction” if he doesn’t change his behaviour after plenty of harassment complaints.

Lord Stone of Blackheath was ordered to bear “behaviour change teaching” after 4 ladies had complaints towards him upheld in October final yr.

Two extra ladies got here ahead with complaints – regarding incidents in June final yr – after a report into his conduct was revealed.

These have now been upheld too.

The peer, a former managing director of Marks and Spencer, has been advised to participate in additional behavioural coaching.

“Now we have additionally made clear that if Lord Stone had been to commit additional related breaches of the code sooner or later, the committee can be inclined to use a way more extreme sanction,” the Lord Conduct Committee stated in an announcement.

• Office ‘energy imbalance’ to be challenged
• New recommendation issued to forestall office harassment

‘Uncomfortable and shocked’

In October final yr, Lord Stone was suspended by the Labour Get together after Lords Conduct Commissioner Lucy Scott-Moncrieff revealed a report into his conduct.

In a single incident, Lord Stone was reported to have grabbed a girl’s arm whereas they had been alone in a stairwell, and advised her “though it could be sexist to say so, you actually do look stunning”.

The ladies advised the committee the encounter had left her feeling “anxious, uncomfortable and shocked”.

In his defence assertion, Lord Stone stated “he thought-about it to be well mannered, pleasant and heat to go with folks on their look”.

One other girl described how Lord Stone had stroked her arm “for 5 to 10 seconds” to thank her for finishing up a routine piece of labor and the way she had later rearranged her workplace furnishings to forestall anybody getting as near her desk as Lord Stone did.

Lord Stone stated he couldn’t keep in mind the arm stroking incident however claimed that such behaviour was benign as a result of “it was an expression and recognition of the inter-relatedness of all humanity”.

‘Not as enlightened’

In one other incident, Lord Stone was accused of constructing transphobic feedback after signing a pledge towards homophobic, biphobic or transphobic behaviour, at a stall in Parliament.

The 2 complainants stated he returned to their stall later with a visitor and loudly advised them: “He needs to signal, the place does he signal … He needs the operation, is that this the place he indicators up for the trans operation, he needs to be trans.”

In his defence, Lord Stone stated he thought-about those that had been offended by his joke to be “not as enlightened as I’m in regards to the equality of homosexual, lesbian, trans or no matter else”.

He then “volunteered one other instance of his sense of equality”, the committee stated, which concerned the repeated use of a racial slur.

Ms Scott-Moncrieff discovered he had breached the parliamentary behaviour code by harassing complainants in relation to the protected traits of age, intercourse and gender reassignment.

‘Over-familiar method’

Within the newest report on his conduct, one girl advised how Lord Stone had twice touched her arm inappropriately at an occasion in June final yr – earlier than the primary report into his conduct was revealed.

She added that he had additionally made feedback “about her sporting of non secular clothes and about different ladies’s modes of gown,” which had left her feeling “very offended” and “extraordinarily uncomfortable” to be round Lord Stone in future.

Lord Stone stated he was “very sorry my feedback have been giving offence to folks” however he had been attempting to make a degree about how the Clerk of Parliaments had spoken to him about being too “tactile” with members of employees.

He was discovered to have breached the code of conduct regarding harassment related to the protected traits of age, intercourse and faith.

Within the second incident, a younger girl complained that Lord Stone had behaved in an “over-familiar method” and “made feedback about her bodily look” whereas giving her a tour of Parliament.

Lord Stone stated any connotations of inappropriate behaviour “appear to me be the product of her creativeness”.

However he accepted that she had felt uncomfortable and he had since taken motion via behavioural change coaching to make sure “these kinds of conditions wouldn’t come up once more”.

He was discovered to have breached the foundations on harassment related to the protected traits of age and intercourse and ordered to take additional behavioural coaching.