LONDON - A British peer who had been in charge of parliamentary ethics quit the House of Lords on Tuesday after allegedly snorting cocaine off a prostitute’s body, fuelling calls for reform of the unelected upper chamber.
Lord John Sewel, 69, apologised for the “pain and embarrassment” caused after the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper published pictures of him apparently taking drugs and studded leather jacket as he chatted to two prostitutes.
The images also showed him calling PM Cameron “facile” and “superficial” and insulting several other senior politicians. Scotland Yard has launched an investigation and raided Sewel’s home. While reforming the House of Lords is not a priority for Cameron’s centre-right govt, the case has sparked calls in the media for the chamber - the world’s largest legislative assembly outside China - to be slimmed down.
“I have today written to the clerk of the parliaments terminating my membership of the House of Lords,” Sewel, who had been in charge of overseeing the conduct of peers before the scandal broke, said in a statement. “I want to apologise for the pain and embarrassment I have caused.”
The Sun on Tuesday quoted the escorts saying he snorted up to eight lines of cocaine and described one of their sessions.
On Monday, Cameron had questioned whether it would be “appropriate” for Sewel to continue approving laws amid the “very serious allegations” against him.
The married 69-year-old, dubbed “Lord Sewer” by The Sun, left his £82,525 (115,000 euro, $128,000) a year post as Lords deputy speaker after the scandal first broke Sunday.