Peers guilty of bullying and harassing staff in House of Lords, independent inquiry finds

Probe by top barrister suggests installing CCTV to deter bad behaviour

House of Lords staff were bullied and harassed by peers and did not report their experiences for “fear of reprisal”, an independent inquiry has found.

The investigation by Naomi Ellenbogen QC concluded that there was a “prevailing culture” of employees being disrespected and reluctant to report wrongdoing.

Ms Ellenbogen said she had uncovered evidence that “staff have bullied and harassed other staff” and “members have bullied and harassed staff”.

Employees interviewed as part of the inquiry suggested that as many as one in five peers were guilty of inappropriate behaviour, with those who had previously been MPs accused of some of the worst cases.

Ms Ellenbogen said the House of Lords would need to change to ensure that complaints are dealt with properly and confidentially.

The problem is so severe that CCTV should be installed in areas where peers congregated, she said.

She said: “In each case, the behaviours recorded have been largely generated and fostered by the structural complexities of the organisation and its working practices.

“On the whole, staff who have experienced bullying and harassment have tended not to complain, formally or otherwise, in the belief that nothing will happen and/or for fear of reprisal.”

Ms Ellenbogen made 19 recommendations for improving procedures in the Lords, including the creation of a new director general position and a single, cross-parliament human resources team.

She said the damaging culture was so entrenched that external experts would need to be brought in to help change it. They would need to be “highly experienced in working in challenging environments”, she added.

Claims that the House of Lords is “unique” and should not follow practices that are common elsewhere were simply an excuse “for failing to adopt or embrace policies and practices that other workplaces would see as essential and for a deep resistance to change and to challenging the current ways of thinking”, she said.

Responding to the report, Lord Fowler, the Lord Speaker, said the Lords had already made “important improvements”, including a new behavioural code, an independent complaints procedure and a new committee on conduct.

However, he admitted that there was “still a great deal of work to do” and said the House of Lords Commission, which he chairs, would be “carefully considering” Ms Ellenbogen’s recommendations.

He added: “Everyone deserves a workplace which has high standards of behaviour and mutual respect. Bullying and harassment have no place in the House of Lords. This report is an important step in ensuring we, the commission, and the House of Lords administration, can work together to achieve that goal.

“It is because we are committed to this that we asked for this inquiry to be conducted. We are determined to address the issues the report highlights and to make the House of Lords better.”

The report was published the day before a similar inquiry into bullying in the House of Commons is due to release its findings.

The investigation, carried out by Gemma White QC, will be published on Thursday and is expected to be equally damning about parliamentary processes for dealing with abuse and harassment.