Former Tory treasurer among peers to be punished for refusing anti-bullying training
The ‘Valuing Everyone’ courses were introduced after Parliament was rocked by allegations
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Your support makes all the difference.A former Conservative party treasurer and an ex-adviser to George Osborne are among three peers facing punishment for refusing to take part in anti-bullying training.
All MPs and peers, as well as their staff, are required to join the ‘Valuing Everyone’ courses – introduced after Parliament was rocked by bullying and harassment allegations.
But Lord James of Blackheath, Lord Kalms and Lord Willoughby de Broke have now been named-and-shamed for ignoring repeated urgings to attend.
They will have their access to House of Lords services restricted, if a recommendation is rubberstamped by fellow peers, as expected, in the next fortnight.
Lord James was made a Tory peer after conducting a savings review for the party ahead of the 2005 election, before working for Mr Osborne, the then-shadow Chancellor.
Lord Kalms, a former boss of the Dixons retail group, was Tory treasurer from 2001 to 2003, but was later expelled from the party after voting for Ukip and is now non-affiliated.
Lord Willoughby, a hereditary peer, defected from the Tories to Ukip in 2007, but left the anti-EU party a decade later.
A passionate Brexiteer, he introduced a Bill for a referendum on leaving the EU in 2013 – part of the process that led to the Brexit ‘yes’ vote three years later.
A fourth peer, Baroness Mone, a Tory who conducted reviews for David Cameron, also breached rules by failing to undergo the training by the 1 April deadline – but later backed down and will not be sanctioned.
In 2017, a poll of union members uncovered that around one in five parliamentary staffers believed they had been bullied by their MP or line manager.
It was said to reveal a “toxic and dysfunctional relationship” between some MPs and peers, and their junior employees, many of whom reported long hours, unreasonable workloads, stress, anxiety and depression.
The courses hit the headlines after two prominent older peers, Lord Heseltine and Baroness Boothroyd, complained of being harangued to take part while recovering from operations.
But the Lords authorities insist the courses are “informed by real examples of inappropriate behaviour by members that had previously typically gone unchallenged”.
They also insist there is now a robust complaints process, with 18 complaints against peers having been investigated and reported on
Some 95 per cent of members who took part said they would recommend it to others, while 92 per cent said they were now better-placed to recognise inappropriate behaviour.
The authorities rubbished claims that the course had cost £750,000 as “wildly inaccurate” – but acknowledged a £100,000 bill.
The three peers to be sanctioned would still be able to attend the Lords, but would be restricted to “email contact only” when seeking help from key staff.
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