By Asia Samachar | Britian |
British peer Kulveer Ranger, who found himself in a troubled spot in one of the bars in the British parliament, is now facing a three-week suspension for “bullying and harassment” less than a year after his elevation.
Lord Ranger was nominated as a peer by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who represented the Conservative Party, in his resignation honours list, allowing him to sit in the House of Lords.
Ranger resigned the Conservative whip after an investigation found he had “acted aggressively, shouting and swearing” in one of parliament’s bars. He was “visibly drunk” and had made “inappropriate comments” to a group of people, according to media reports.
Members of the House of Lords are sometimes referred to as peers. Most members are Life Peers although 92 sit by virtue of hereditary title. Life Peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister to serve for their life; the title is not transferable.
Ranger became a close ally of Johnson during his time as London mayor, when Ranger worked on transport policy.
Ranger said it was a “wholly uncharacteristic outburst” at a time when his wife and children’s health issues had “taken a significant toll” on his physical and mental health, according to The Guardian.
A member of staff at the parliamentary bar recalled seeing Ranger arrive with MPs and other guests, who had drinks upon arrival paid for by MPs while the peer was at the bar, before he “tried to order some shots”. At this point it had been “decided that Lord Ranger should not be served any more alcohol”.
The report said “cases like these understandably cause great reputational damage and undermine public confidence in parliament. Members of the parliamentary community should be able to socialise without being subjected to bullying behaviour by a member of the house who is significantly under the influence of alcohol.”
In August 2020, Ranger was promoted to global head of strategy and communications for financial services and insurance at Atos, where he was also the company’s UK and Ireland senior vice-president of strategy and communications. The company provides cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing.
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