Lord Rami gives up honour after King orders it to be ‘cancelled’ for attacking Sikhs, Pakistanis

LONDON: A notice published in the London Gazette on Friday said the King had directed Lord Ranger’s CBE would be “cancelled and annulled”.

The Forfeiture Committee, which decides on whether to strip someone of an honour, is understood to have taken 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.

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 later ennobled in 2019 in Theresa May’s resignation honours, but lost the Conservative whip after he was censured by the standards commissioner, when he lost the whip.

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 in November this year.

It’s understood 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.

In early 2023, Lord Rami Ranger apologised and withdrew comments that were abusive to Pakistanis, after a referral was made about his conduct to the House of Lords standards watchdog.

While defending Indian PM Narendra Modi after the BBC’s two-part documentary about the prime minister and his role in anti-Muslim 2002 religious riots in Gujarat, Rami Ranger had accused Pakistanis as groomers of young girls who also do drug peddling.

He also alleged that “30-40 Labour MPs” depend on Pakistani votes and that “Pakistani votes are the best because they are in ghettos.”

He also suggested without any evidence that the BBC’s “Pakistani-origin staff” could be behind the documentary on Modi. After he was criticised heavily, Rami Ranger apologised for his racist and hate-filled comments about Pakistanis.