Remove Lords who are sentenced to prison

4.17.29pm GMT Tue 27th Jan 2009

Convicted Peers should be expelled from Parliament, says Clegg.

Members of the House of Lords who are convicted of a criminal offence, and face a prison sentence, should be expelled from Parliament says Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Nick Clegg says: "The current accusations of wrongdoing that have been made against a number of peers highlight everything that is wrong with our political system. A system that too often operates on the myth that tradition should somehow always be trusted.

"The allegations of accepting payment in return for changing legislation are serious enough. But on top of that the sanctions applied to the peers if they are found guilty are so weak.

"This case exposes the extraordinary protection enjoyed by the political class. One rule for lawmakers and another for everyone else. The most the accused peers will have to do if the Lords' investigation finds them guilty is to apologise.

"That is why my colleague Chris Huhne was right to write to the police to establish whether these allegations might carry more serious sanctions under the law.

"That is why I am also now calling on the Government to introduce urgent new legislation to change the rules so that peers found guilty of wrongdoing are expelled from Parliament.

"It is wholly out of step with the public's legitimate demand for transparency in politics that just because someone happens to be in the House of Lords they are exempt from the most basic standards of accountability."