Conservative peer Lord Rami Ranger has hit back after forfeiting his CBE, describing the decision as “unjust”.
Lord Ranger’s forfeiture of his CBE was announced on Friday, with the Cabinet Office saying the decision had been due to him “bringing the honours system into disrepute”.
It is understood that the Forfeiture Committee, which decides whether to strip someone of an honour, took the decision after considering social media posts made by Lord Ranger about the Sikh community, along with comments in the media about Pakistanis.
It also considered the House of Lords Standards Commissioner’s finding in June 2023 that Lord Ranger had harassed and bullied Indian journalist Poonam Joshi in a series of tweets, the PA news agency understands.
But a spokesperson for Lord Ranger insisted the peer had been a “worthy recipient of his CBE”, adding: “The manner in which it has been taken from him is shameful.”
Lord Ranger, who has donated around £1.5 million to the Conservative Party since 2009, was made a CBE in 2016 for services to business and community cohesion.
He was ennobled in 2019 in Theresa May’s resignation honours list but lost the Conservative whip after he was censured by the standards commissioner.
Lord Ranger apologised to Ms Joshi for his conduct, which included calling her “toxic”, “a total nutcase”, and “the epitome of filth and garbage”, after the Lords Standards Commissioner found he had bullied and harassed her.
The Conservatives returned the whip to Lord Ranger last month.
In a statement, Lord Ranger’s spokesperson said the peer had apologised and undertaken rehabilitation work in relation to a number of complaints against him, criticising the Forfeiture Committee for revisiting matters that had already been dealt with.
The spokesperson said the Forfeiture Committee had not discharged its duties in a “fair, balanced and transparent way”, and its decision would “encourage individuals to make spurious complaints about others”.
They said: “He is looking at all options for redress via various legal avenues open to him and will challenge this unjust decision in order to vindicate himself and clear his name in the UK and abroad.”
PA understands that while Lord Ranger apologised for his actions, the Forfeiture Committee considered his behaviour combined with the fact he was made a CBE for his work on community cohesion meant it was appropriate for him to forfeit his honour.
Lord Ranger is one of six people to lose their honours on Friday, with others including tech entrepreneur Lawrence Jones, who lost his MBE after being jailed for 15 years for a number of sexual offences last year.
The Forfeiture Committee can recommend someone loses an honour for a variety of reasons, including criminal convictions and bringing the honours system into disrepute.
People to have forfeited their honours for bringing the system into disrepute previously include rapper Wiley, who lost his MBE earlier this year after making a series of antisemitic posts on social media, and former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells, who returned her CBE over her involvement in the Horizon scandal.
According to its website, the committee does not carry out investigations itself, but “reflects the findings of official investigations and makes a recommendation of whether or not the honours system has been brought into disrepute”.
