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David Cameron endorses Sewel's decision to resign from Lords role Sewel labelled 'bad apple' as pressure mounts on him to resign from Lords
(about 2 hours later)
David Cameron has endorsed the decision by Lord Sewel to resign as deputy speaker of the House of Lords after “very serious allegations” that he took drugs with sex workers. Lord Sewel is facing mounting pressure to resign from the House of Lords with immediate effect after the former Commons Speaker, Lady Boothroyd, described him as a “bad apple” who had brought the upper house into disrepute.
The prime minister, who was speaking in Jakarta on the first day of his tour of south-east Asia, said that questions would be raised about whether it was appropriate for someone to act as a legislator in light of such allegations. As David Cameron endorsed Sewel’s decision to resign as the deputy speaker of the Lords following “very serious allegations” that he took drugs with sex workers, Boothroyd called on the crossbench peer to “take a quiet way out of the back door”.
Sewel is facing a police investigation after quitting as deputy speaker over a video allegedly showing him taking cocaine with sex workers. There are also calls for the crossbench peer to resign from parliament altogether. He could become the first peer expelled under new rules that he helped to introduce, even if police take no further action. The intervention by Boothroyd, a fellow crossbencher, was endorsed by Sewel’s immediate predecessor as the House of Lords chairman of committees, Lord Brabazon of Tara, who called on him to retire. He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “If I was in his shoes I would retire from the House of Lords as of now.”
Cameron told ITN in Jakarta: “These are very serious allegations. I think it’s right he has stood down from his committee posts and I’m sure further questions will be asked about whether it is appropriate to have someone legislating and acting in the House of Lords if they have genuinely behaved in this way. It’s still going to take some time I suspect to get to the full truth.” Sewel is facing a police investigation after quitting as deputy speaker over a video allegedly showing him taking cocaine with sex workers.
Brabazon raised the prospect that Sewel may be able to escape any sanction because he appears not to have committed an offence against the House of Lords, which has no rules about bringing the upper house into disrepute. The Tory peer said: “Members [of the House of Lords] now can be expelled under the relatively new rules. Nobody has yet been expelled. But there is a mechanism.
“Now, whether that applies in the case of Lord Sewel I do not know, because what he has done, ghastly as it is, is not actually an offence against the House of Lords ... Apart from the code of conduct, which says you have got to behave on your honour – it is possible that could catch him – we don’t unfortunately have a rule of bringing the place into disrepute. I rather wish we did.”
Boothroyd was more forthright in calling on Sewel to resign from the Lords. She told Radio 4: “I think the best thing that could happen now – and I know he has said he is going to relinquish his post as chairman of ways and means – [is] he should take a quiet way out of the back door of the House of Lords. I am sad for his family.”
Boothroyd, who sat in the Commons as a Labour MP before her election to the speakership, said Sewel’s conduct had damaged the upper house. Asked about its impact on the reputation of the Lords, she said: “It doesn’t leave it in tatters. But you only need one bad apple in a barrel. I am afraid he has been the bad apple in this barrel. I really am acutely aware of what the public think about members of parliament and those that represent them, whether it is in the Commons or the Lords. We are trying to uphold our standards there, particularly the chairman of ways and means. It doesn’t leave us with a very good smell. I am very ashamed of what he has done, because he has brought the house into some disrepute.”
The prime minister said questions would be raised about whether it was appropriate for someone to act as a legislator in light of such allegations. Cameron, speaking in Jakarta on the first day of his tour of south-east Asia, told ITN: “These are very serious allegations. I think it’s right he has stood down from his committee posts and I’m sure further questions will be asked about whether it is appropriate to have someone legislating and acting in the House of Lords if they have genuinely behaved in this way. It’s still going to take some time, I suspect, to get to the full truth.”
Related: The real Lord Sewel scandal is financial, not sexual | Suzanne MooreRelated: The real Lord Sewel scandal is financial, not sexual | Suzanne Moore
The House of Lords authorities may face a delay of up to a year before they can use new powers to suspend or expel Sewel. The Labour MP John Mann led calls for Sewel to be thrown out of parliament after the Speaker of the Lords, Lady D’Souza, described the peer’s alleged behaviour as “shocking and unacceptable”.The House of Lords authorities may face a delay of up to a year before they can use new powers to suspend or expel Sewel. The Labour MP John Mann led calls for Sewel to be thrown out of parliament after the Speaker of the Lords, Lady D’Souza, described the peer’s alleged behaviour as “shocking and unacceptable”.
But the code of conduct for the Lords makes clear that any investigation by the commissioner for standards in the upper house has to be suspended if a matter is being investigated by the police.But the code of conduct for the Lords makes clear that any investigation by the commissioner for standards in the upper house has to be suspended if a matter is being investigated by the police.
D’Souza has referred the matter to Scotland Yard. Possession of class A drugs carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Any peer given a custodial sentence of more than a year immediately ceases to be a member of the Lords.D’Souza has referred the matter to Scotland Yard. Possession of class A drugs carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Any peer given a custodial sentence of more than a year immediately ceases to be a member of the Lords.
If the police decline to press charges then the matter will be referred back to the parliamentary standards commissioner. If the commissioner finds that Sewel has broken the code of conduct then peers would be asked to vote on action which could include suspension or, for the first time under new rules formalised by Sewel this month, expulsion. If the police decline to press charges then the matter will be referred back to the parliamentary standards commissioner. If the commissioner finds that Sewel has broken the code of conduct, peers would be asked to vote on action which could include suspension or, for the first time under new rules formalised by Sewel this month, expulsion.
Sewel resigned as deputy speaker of the Lords after the Sun on Sunday published a video appearing to show him using a £5 note to snort a white powder off a tabletop. He is also heard calling women “whores”. The paper said the footage was filmed in Sewel’s flat in Dolphin Square, just a short walk from the House of Lords. Sewel resigned as deputy speaker of the Lords after the Sun on Sunday published a video appearing to show him using a £5 note to snort a white powder off a tabletop. He is also heard calling women “whores”. The paper said the footage was filmed in Sewel’s flat in Dolphin Square, a short walk from the House of Lords.
D’Souza said: “[The] revelations about the behaviour of Lord Sewel are both shocking and unacceptable. Lord Sewel has resigned as chairman of committees. The House of Lords will continue to uphold standards in public life and will not tolerate departure from these standards. These serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords commissioner for standards and the Metropolitan police for investigation as a matter of urgency.”D’Souza said: “[The] revelations about the behaviour of Lord Sewel are both shocking and unacceptable. Lord Sewel has resigned as chairman of committees. The House of Lords will continue to uphold standards in public life and will not tolerate departure from these standards. These serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords commissioner for standards and the Metropolitan police for investigation as a matter of urgency.”
Related: Lord Sewel: the popular press speaks with one voice - he must go
Mann insisted Sewel should retire from the Lords voluntarily before he was expelled. “He chaired the committee that makes the decisions on discipline. It was his committee,” the MP for Bassetlaw said. “He cannot possibly go in front of his own committee and expect a serious hearing. He is a disgrace. He should retire and resign immediately.Mann insisted Sewel should retire from the Lords voluntarily before he was expelled. “He chaired the committee that makes the decisions on discipline. It was his committee,” the MP for Bassetlaw said. “He cannot possibly go in front of his own committee and expect a serious hearing. He is a disgrace. He should retire and resign immediately.
“A lifetime ban would be the committee’s only option. He needs to save them and himself further embarrassment and go now.”“A lifetime ban would be the committee’s only option. He needs to save them and himself further embarrassment and go now.”
On Monday, the Sun published fresh excerpts from footage allegedly showing him drinking after having taken drugs. Sewel is heard branding Cameron “the most facile, superficial prime minister there’s ever been”, the Sun reported, during a conversation captured on camera. On Monday, the Sun published fresh excerpts from footage allegedly showing Sewel drinking after having taken drugs. He is heard branding Cameron “the most facile, superficial prime minister there’s ever been”, the Sun reported, during a conversation captured on camera.
Related: Lord Sewel: the popular press speaks with one voice - he must go
The peer calls Boris Johnson “a joke” and a “public school upper-class twit”, and describes Scottish MP Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, as a “silly, pompous prat”. The newspaper also reports that Sewel said the Labour leadership race is “in a fucking mess”.The peer calls Boris Johnson “a joke” and a “public school upper-class twit”, and describes Scottish MP Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, as a “silly, pompous prat”. The newspaper also reports that Sewel said the Labour leadership race is “in a fucking mess”.
In the videos, Sewel, who has been a peer since 1996, is asked whether he receives expenses, and explains that he now gets a flat-rate allowance of £200 a day, though he alludes to the system being less rewarding than it once was. “It’s all changed and disappeared. People were making false claims,” he is heard saying. “Members of her lordship’s house … are right thieves, rogues and bastards at times. Wonderful people that they are.”
The allowance for peers is £300 a day, and does not apply to Sewel, who is paid a salary of £84,525 for his role as chairman of committees. As he declared his main residence was in Aberdeenshire, he was also entitled to a tax-free office holder’s allowance of £36,000 plus travel and other expenses.
His responsibility is to oversee the work of the various Lords committees and ensure they are not working in conflict with one another and using their time and resources to best effect. He has also sat on the committee responsible for members’ privileges and conduct.
Sewel is a former senior vice-principal of the University of Aberdeen and a former parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Scottish Office, serving as the minister for agriculture, environment and fisheries between 1997 and 1999.
He is not required to resign from the Lords until an investigation by peers. It is also open to the upper house to sanction a peer by denying them access to Lords facilities or suspend them from parliament for a specific period.