Tory peer, 73, 'called woman a scumbag': Lord Ranger victimised employee by branding her a 'silly girl', tribunal rules
- Lord Ranger, a 73-year-old shipping tycoon, donated £1m to Conservative Party
- He told employee she was 'arguing with men like a proper quarrelsome woman'
- In an 'intemperate' phone call played to tribunal, he said he would not 'spare her'
A Conservative peer who used his maiden speech to champion equality for women victimised a female employee by calling her a 'silly girl' and a 'scumbag', an employment tribunal ruled.
Lord Ranger, who has previously told peers that 'empowerment and equality for women everywhere is a necessity', told an employee who complained of sexual harassment that she was 'arguing with men like a proper quarrelsome woman'.
The commodities and shipping tycoon, 73, has donated £1million to the Conservative Party, including £145,000 during Boris Johnson's leadership.
In an 'intemperate' phone call played to a tribunal, Lord Ranger said he would not 'spare her'.
Lord Ranger (pictured alongside Boris Johnson) told an employee who complained of sexual harassment that she was 'arguing with men like a proper quarrelsome woman'
The victim initially took his multi-million pound firm Sun Mark and some of its executives – one of whom allegedly harassed her – to court last September.
The Watford employment tribunal found that Lord Ranger 'victimised, 'harassed' and 'discriminated against' the woman, and broke employment laws in the way he handled her complaint.
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The Tory peer has since said the victim provoked him before recording the conversation. He and one of the firm's executives have been granted permission to appeal.
In late 2018, the victim complained a male colleague had repeatedly pressured her into a sexual relationship.
After a manager failed to deal with her complaint appropriately, she went directly to Lord Ranger.
The commodities and shipping tycoon, 73, has donated £1million to the Conservative Party, including £145,000 during Boris Johnson's leadership
In a recorded phone conversation, he told her to 'stop your rubbish' and said: 'You have created such a mess in the entire company.'
Lord Ranger also threatened to take the woman to court, adding: 'You are such an insolent girl.'
The judge ruled that his conduct amounted to gender-based discrimination, saying that the peer 'would not have treated a man in a hypothetically similar situation by the use of those words'.
In 2017 Lord Ranger attended the notorious male-only Presidents Club fundraising dinner, where female staff were groped. He said he was 'horrified' by what took place.
A spokesman for Sun Mark told The Times it was appealing against certain aspects of the decision and strongly denied all claims of harassment or discrimination involving Lord Ranger.
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