Lord Sewel resigns as House of Lords deputy speaker after Sun on Sunday alleges drug taking
Lord Sewel has resigned his position as the deputy speaker of the House of Lords following allegations that he took drugs with prostitutes.
The Labour peer, who chairs the Lords' committee on standards and behaviour, was allegedly caught on camera taking cocaine with two prostitutes according to the Sun on Sunday.
Now Sewel, a former Labour minister before being made a peer in 1996, has resigned his paid position as chairman of the committees for which he receives a salary of more than £80,000.
"Lord Sewel has this morning resigned as chairman of committee, a salaried role. This means his is no longer in an official role,” a Lords spokesperson said on Sunday morning, PoliticsHome reports.
Speaker of the House of Lords Baroness D'Souza has said she will be referring Sewel to the police to investigate the allegations. In a statement she said:
Today’s revelations about the behaviour of Lord Sewel are both shocking and unacceptable. Lord Sewel has this morning 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.