- Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate’s story was met with laughter in the chamber
A former police boss and peer admitted in the House of Lords that he decided not to report his wife’s stolen credit card after finding out that the thief was spending less than she was.
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, 81, who was previously chief superintendent in the Durham Constabulary and was formerly the president of the Police Superintendents Association left the chamber stunned with the revelation.
The ex-special adviser to then Home Secretary Jack Straw contributed to a debate on electronic payment machines with an anecdote of his own, in which he told the Lords how his wife had her credit card stolen during one of her ‘rare trips’ to London.
He told the Lords: ‘I monitored the use of the card and I have to say I didn’t report it to the police, because the their was spending less than she was.’
Bouts of laughter filled the chamber after moment of confusion about whether or not the Lord was serious, as he described the ill-fated incident straight-faced, without any indication that it could be a gag.
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, who was previously chief superintendent in the Durham Constabulary left the chamber stunned with the revelation
However, the Lord’s story was met with responses that did not condone the decision to not report the missing card to the authorities.
Treasury minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton said: ‘I think in these circumstances, one should always report these matters to the police.’
Lord Mackenzie, who also graduated from the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, has been a peer since 1998, starting off as a Labour affiliated member, before becoming a crossbench member in 2013.
Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett, who introduced the debate into the Lords, raised concerns around the accessibility of payment devices for those with low or no vision.
Lord Blunkett, who is blind from birth, said those who was visually impaired risked losing access to their card if they are faced with a flat screen, and get their pin in wrong while spending over £100 in hospitality.
He told the Lords: ‘The providers are pretending that there is accessibility when there are markings down the left-hand side of a flatscreen.
Lord Mackenzie told the Lords that he decided not to report his wife’s stolen card to the police because the thief was spending less than she was
Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett, who introduced the debate into the Lords, raised concerns around the accessibility of payment devices for those with low or no vision
‘It is a major challenge for those without sight. It is, in my view, in complete breach of the Equality Act 2010.
‘The providers do not provide the necessary covers that can be available to make at least a stab—I mean literally a stab—at hitting the right buttons, and it is time we acted.’
Baroness Vere told the Lords that the Financial Conduct Authority’s s guidance for financial services organisations to ensure that vulnerable people with disabilities, was ‘better than regulation,’ and said that the treasury was monitoring the issue.
In response, Lord Blunkett said: ‘I would like to invite the Minister out to dinner, and I promise to pay if there is a flat screen that I can access.’
Baroness Vere responded: ‘Now that is a first at the Dispatch Box—I have been invited on to buses and trains but never out to dinner.
‘I do not know what to say to that, but I will try to find a restaurant that has an appropriate touch screen and I would be happy to continue the conversation.’
