Suspension block is end of my ordeal, says Lester

A peer who was accused of groping a woman and promising her a peerage for sex says he hopes a decision by the House of Lords to block his immediate suspension “means the end of my ordeal”.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill was facing the longest suspension in modern parliamentary history after an inquiry found the 82-yearold had sexually harassed women’s rights campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera and offered her “corrupt inducements” to sleep with him.

The Lords privileges and conduct committee recommended he should be suspended until June 2022.

But on Thursday peers backed a call to send his case back to the Lords committee for privileges and conduct by 101 votes to 78, amid claims that the investigation was “manifestly unfair”.

Following a lengthy and impassioneddebate,members agreed that the Commissioner for Standards Lucy Scott-moncrieff had failed to comply with the code of conduct which required her to act “in accordance with the principles of natural justice and fairness”.

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Lord Lester, who denies the allegations against him and says they are “completely untrue”, said the decision was “a triumph for Parliament and for equal justice under the law” and criticised the investigation.