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By Ned Simons - 21st October 2010
Lord Brabazon of Tara has denied that the decision to recommend the suspension of three Asian peers from the House of Lords was in any way racist.
On Monday the Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee recommended that Baroness Uddin, Lord Bhatia and Lord Paul be suspended for abusing their second home allowances.
In each case the committee found the peers had designated properties outside of London as their "main home" even though they resided "substantially inside London".
Peers heard today that this did not reflect "any natural interpretation of the term 'main residence'".
But Labour peer Lord Alli questioned why the only three peers to be formally investigated by the committee were of Asian origin, although he was careful not to accuse any member of the privileges committee of being racist themselves.
"Let me say from the outset I do not in any way to accuse any member of the committee or sub committee of racism, that would be quite improper," he said.
Lord Alli said he had reviewed the list of peers who had been accused of abusing their expenses and said he could not find a "consistent pattern" that explained which peers got referred to the committee and which did not.
He also raised questions about the procedures followed by the sub committee that conducted the initial investigation.
Lord Ali said it was "unjust, unreasonable and unfair that any noble Lords facing such a serious set of allegations should not be entitled to legal representation" and warned that the "rush to apologise" the expenses system should not come at the expense of "justice and fairness".
Conservative Baroness Flather also said she was "sad" that the three peers to have been suspended were Asian.
"When you read that three members of the same minority have been found to have cheated on their expenses it is very hard to bear," she said.
She added: "I do not suggest any incorrect behaviour has been coming out of the committee or the sub committee. I have no complaint to make about that."
But the chair of the privileges and conduct committee, Lord Brabazon, told peers that the three cases were investigated because of the seriousness of the allegations and he gave his "absolute assurance" it had nothing to do with race.
"It wasn't because the three peers were Asians in the least and I don't think there is anyone on the committee or the sub committee who would not endorse that," he said.
The committee found that Lord Paul had claimed a flat occupied by one of his employees was his main home and has been suspended from the Lords for four months.
Lord Bhatia has been suspended for eight months after having been found to have "flipped" his main home to a residence in Surrey owned by his brother, so that he could claim overnight expenses.
And in the most extreme case Baroness Uddin has been suspended for the rest of the parliamentary session, until 2012, after being found to have claimed for a second home she barely used and had described as a "bolt hole".
Lord Brabazon also criticised the Labour peer for failing to apologise and said she should pay back the £127,000 she wrongly claimed.
He said the committee regarded the repayment of money as "a matter restitution rather than of sanction" and that therefore the length of suspension should not be linked to repayment.
Lord Bhatia has already repaid £27,000 but was criticised for having "not apologised or acknowledged he has acted wrongly". And Lord Paul, one of Britain's richest men, has handed back £40,000.
Speaking for the government in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde said all three peers fell short of the standards of conduct the House and public are entitled to.
"The public expect us to act with firmness and unity," he said.
And Labour Lords leader Baroness Royall of Blaisdon said that while peers may feel sympathy for their colleagues, they should not ignore their responsibilities.
"We have a duty to Parliament and politics as a whole to right wrongs when we find them," she said.
Baroness D'Souza , the convener of the crossbench peers, said that while voting to suspend three of their colleagues was hard, the reputation of the house was at stake.
And she said that while the media had "encouraged the wider public to perceive this House as redundant at best and unworthy of public funds at worse", they should not "pull up the draw bridge" and ignore public anger.
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