House of Lords is treating peers like 'recalcitrant schoolboys' after banning ...

House of Lords is treating peers like 'recalcitrant schoolboys' after banning ...
House of Lords is treating peers like 'recalcitrant schoolboys' after banning ...

The House of Lords has been accused of treating peers like 'recalcitrant schoolboys' after banning two octogenarians from Parliament's bars and restaurants for failing to attend a sexual harassment workshop.

Friends of Lord Kalms, 89, and Lord Willoughby de Broke, 82, branded the punishment 'ridiculous' following the fallout over the mandatory 'Valuing Everyone' classes.

The pair - along with Lord James - were threatened with the exclusion earlier this month and the authorities have now acted.

The 'Valuing Everyone' two-hour session is run by a controversial consultancy firm that uses giant blue puppets in some of its courses.

Challenge Consultancy has pocketed £885,354 for running the course across the Commons and Lords, a Parliament spokesman said.

Friends of Lord Kalms, 89, and Lord Willoughby de Broke (pictured), 82, branded the punishment 'ridiculous' following the fallout over the mandatory 'Valuing Everyone' classes

Pictured: Lord Kalms

Friends of Lord Kalms (right), 89, and Lord Willoughby de Broke (left), 82, branded the punishment 'ridiculous' following the fallout over the mandatory 'Valuing Everyone' classes

Friends of the two peers told the Times the ban was 'ridiculous' with them being treated like schoolboys who 'can't go to the tuck shop' because they have not done their 'prep'.

Lord Heseltine said: 'This is the most ridiculous exclusion I could imagine.'

The former Deputy Prime Minister also called the training a 'shocking waste of taxpayer money' after completing it to avoid punishment.

Ahead of the vote on the training, Lord Cormack said the ban would be foolish because the library had a 'number of books on good behaviour'.

After being found in breach of the Lords' code of conduct, the three peers will be banned from the House's 'dining and banqueting facilities', the Lords Library and meeting rooms which they can usually book.

They will only be able to communicate with Lords staff, including clerks and the Lord Speaker's office, by email.

The pair - along with Lord James (pictured) - were threatened with the exclusion earlier this month and the authorities have now acted

 The pair - along with Lord James (pictured) - were threatened with the

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