大象传媒

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.鈥�

鈥淭he 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,鈥� said Lord Hill.

He added that revised rules in the House of Lords had closed 鈥渓oopholes鈥�, 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.