House of Lords an 'effective revising chamber'

The actions of a small minority of peers are tarnishing the reputation of the hard-working majority, said a former leader of the House.

Police are investigating allegations that the senior peer, Lord Sewel, took drugs with prostitutes.

Lord Hill told Today the case epitomised the House's problem: that "the actions of a very small number of people, including in this case Lord Sewel, are seen to tar the reputation of the much larger number of peers who work hard.”

“The key question you should ask yourself is: Does the House of Lords do the job that people need it to do as an effective revising chamber ...and I think, despite these things, it still does,” said Lord Hill.

He added that revised rules in the House of Lords had closed “loopholes”, increasing the range of sanctions available, which would have meant Lord Sewel would have been suspended from the House even had he not stepped down.