A Labour peer used the racial slur "n*****" numerous times during an official inquiry to defend himself against accusations of transphobia.

Lord Stone of Blackheath has been told to undertake bespoke training and behaviour change coaching after being found to have breached parliament's code of conduct in relation to four separate complaints.

As well as the transphobia allegations, the 77-year-old was also investigated over two accusations of sexual harassment by the House of Lords' Commissioner for Standards, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff.

The former Marks & Spencer managing director, who was made a life peer by then prime minister Tony Blair in 1997, has now been suspended from Labour's grouping in the Lords.

The investigation was the first to take place under a new code of conduct for peers, introduced in April this year and following the Westminster harassment scandal.


For the first time, this explicitly set out that bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct were breaches of the code.

It also introduced new procedures for dealing with complaints.

In an allegation made by a complainant known only as "XY", Lord Stone was described to have approached a stall they were staffing which invited peers to sign a "No Bystanders" pledge about homophobic, biphobic or transphobic behaviour.

The Commissioner's report read: "Having signed the pledge himself earlier, when other staff were on duty… Lord Stone later came back with a guest pushing his way past others and saying loudly, 'He wants to sign, where does he sign ... He wants the operation, is this where he signs up for the trans operation, he wants to be trans'."

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In response to the subsequent complaint, Lord Stone offered an "example of his sense of equality", the report said.

Lord Stone was quoted as saying: "I wouldn't call somebody a 'n*****' in, like, in an aggressive way.

"But let us say I was at some meeting, which I often am, particularly in Israel with black people or whatever, I would say, 'We are all n*****s, I am' - what do you call it - 'an honorary n*****', yes.

"And they would say, 'Yes, Andrew is just as n***** as we are' … but people feel that if you are not trans or if you are not gay, or if you are not lesbian, then you are not part of that group and therefore you can't speak in an open way.

"No, I feel I am part of that group. I am heterosexual. There are people who are gay, there are people who are lesbian and I feel there is no difference between all of us."

The Commissioner found Lord Stone's behaviour towards "XY" breached the code of conduct.

Image: Westminster recently faced a harassment scandal

Another complaint against Lord Stone related to the same incident but came from another complainant, known as "ZA".

The peer was again found to have breached the code of conduct.

Lord Stone was also found to have breached the code of conduct in relation to two allegations of sexual harassment.

He was said to have told a woman, known only as "FG" that she was "looking beautiful" and grabbed her arm to insist that, although it might be thought sexist to say so, she really did look beautiful.

He let go of her when someone else came through the door at the bottom of the stairs, the report said, adding: "The incident came after a period of time where Lord Stone had made increasingly personal remarks about FG's clothes and appearance."

Lord Stone said he thought the complainant "had low self-esteem, and so liked to give her encouragement", but that he did not have any ulterior motive.

The fourth complainant, known as "PQ", said the peer had come to her desk to thank her for some work and began "stroking her arm for five to ten seconds".

She described how she had previously thought Lord Stone to be "a bit creepy".

Lord Stone said he could not remember the arm stroking incident, but the report added he felt that there was nothing wrong with what he had done as it's what he does with men and women of all ages and backgrounds.

He was again found to have breached the code.

The Commissioner's report revealed Lord Stone had also previously been subject to a number of other complaints from female members of staff.

A Labour Lords spokesperson said: "The chief whip has informed Lord Stone that he is suspended from the Labour Peers Group until further notice.

"Further discussions will be had with Andrew once he has completed the training and coaching recommended by the Commissioner."

The Commissioner said Lord Stone was "fully co-operative" throughout her inquiries.

Sky News has attempted to contact the peer for comment.