Former Tameside MP suspended from House of Lords for bullying security guard

A veteran Labour peer and former Tameside MP has been suspended from the House of Lords for a week after he was found to have bullied a member of security staff. The sanction against Tom Pendry was imposed with immediate effect after the upper chamber approved a report by the Conduct Committee.

Former Labour MP Lord Pendry represented the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency for 31 years. The Lords' watchdog rejected an appeal by the 87-year-old and backed the findings of the standards commissioner who, following an investigation, upheld the complaint that the peer had breached the code of conduct with his behaviour.

Lord Pendry was found to have been 'verbally aggressive' and exhibited 'intimidating behaviour' to the security guard, who had challenged an unescorted guest in Parliament last July.

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The guard, who served in the Army, described being left 'physically shaken and unnerved' after the 'angry' peer challenged them and allegedly grabbed their radio during 'a little bit of a tussle'.

Lord Pendry conceded he had 'ticked off forcibly' the guard, but noted staff were 'flexing their muscles' against politicians in a manner he had not seen in his 50 years in Parliament.

Speaking in the Lords, chairwoman of the Conduct Committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller said: "The report upholds the findings of the commissioner for standards that Lord Pendry breached the code of conduct by bullying a member of staff in the parliamentary security department.

"The committee considered an appeal by Lord Pendry against this finding but unanimously dismissed it. The report recommends that Lord Pendry be suspended from the service of this House for a