Tory peer Lord Rami Ranger stripped of CBE

Conservative peer and donor Lord Rami Ranger has been stripped of his CBE.

The Forfeiture Committee, which recommends whether to remove someone's honour, decided he had brought the honours system into disrepute after a report by the Lords standards watchdog found he bullied and harassed a journalist on social media.

It also considered social media posts made by Lord Ranger about the Sikh community, as well as comments in the media about Pakistanis, the BBC understands.

Lord Ranger said he was "devastated" to have been stripped of the honour and would explore "various legal avenues" to challenge the "unjust" decision.

A notice published in the London Gazette on Friday said the King had directed that Lord Ranger's honour should be "cancelled and annulled".

He was made a CBE in 2016 for services to business and community cohesion in 2016, before being made a peer in Theresa May's resignation honours in 2019.

A spokesperson for Lord Ranger said the peer "has not committed any crime nor has he broken any law, where the majority of the people who have had their honour revoked in this way have committed a crime or broken the law".

"It is a sad indictment that the honours system which is designed to empower individuals who go the extra mile and, as a result, contribute a great deal to the nation should be used to curtail the basic fundamental rights of free speech and thought process," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson went on to say Lord Ranger had apologised and undertaken rehabilitative work regarding complaints that had been made against him, adding that the decision would "encourage individuals to make spurious complaints about others".

"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. Lord Ranger was a worthy recipient of his CBE," they added.

"The manner in which it has been taken from him is shameful."

Lord Ranger was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party following the Lords commissioner for standards report last year but he was readmitted in November.

The businessman has donated around £1.5m to the Conservative Party since 2009.

Last year Lord Ranger apologised to Poonam Joshi, an Indian journalist based in the UK, after the Lords standards commissioner found he had abused his power by "persistently undermining, humiliating and denigrating" her in a series of posts on Twitter.

Honours can be removed on the advice of the Forfeiture Committee and with the approval of the King.

Reasons can include being found guilty of a criminal offence, behaviour which results in censure by a regulatory or a professional body, or any other behaviour that is deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute.

The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.