Peer suspended from House of Lords for launching tirade at parliament security staff
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Former Marks and Spencer boss Lord Stone of Blackheath called security staff ‘stupid’ and was found to have been rude and aggressive. A former Marks and Spencer boss has been suspended from the House of Lords for six months after he was found to have launched a tirade of abuse at members of parliamentary staff, calling them “stupid”.
![[Lord Andrew Stone was found to have bullied staff (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/12/15/911d00eae58475770b8a73c45baece3eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM0MTAyNDkz-2.76872635.jpg)
The lengthy suspension was handed down to Lord Stone of Blackheath after he was found to have been rude and aggressive, with the decision noting he poses a “continuing risk to those on the parliamentary estate”. The incident showed the “clear pattern” of the non-affiliated peer’s poor behaviour continued, according to the House of Lords Conduct Committee.
Lord Stone, who has admitted to getting “over-angry”, has previously had a series of complaints upheld against him for harassment. As a result he underwent a total of 14 sessions of behaviour change coaching, provided by a specialist trainer at public expense.
The latest complaints relate to an incident in July last year, after Lord Stone left his suitcase unattended at the Underground station entrance to Parliament. When told he could not leave it there he became abusive and called one security guard “stupid” and another “thick and stupid”.
Refusing to remove his suitcase he told one of the officers: “I don’t care if they piss on it.”. In his written response to the complaints, Lord Stone, who was joint managing director of Marks and Spencer from 1996 to 1999, did not dispute the facts of the case.
