Martin Bell: No more lords

Martin Bell: No more lords

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Saturday, 15, Apr 2006 08:27

Martin Bell has launched an appeal for Tony Blair to suspend all new peerages until a full inquiry is held into the cash for lordships scandal.

Mr Bell famously beat Neil Hamilton in Tatton in the 1997 election standing on an anti-sleaze ticket.

He has waded into the debate over how peerages are awarded as almost every day reveals a new funding or favours link to an appointment to the House of Lords.

In an open letter to Tony Blair, Mr Bell said: "You will realise by now the seriousness of the cash for honours scandal with the first arrest now having been made. We suggest that you no longer attempt to dismiss this lightly as you have seemed to do in the past.

"It is time to stop the rot and one way to start is to freeze all appointments to the Lords until such time that this matter is resolved."

The police investigation into the alleged sale of peerages was launched after it received three complaints pertaining to alleged breaches of the act last month.

The furore surfaced after it emerged that a number of businessmen who had loaned the Labour party money to help fund last year's election campaign had subsequently been nominated for peerages.

Since the allegations emerged last month, both Labour and the Conservatives have revealed the identity of businessmen and women who loaned the parties money in the run-up to last year's general election.

Labour said that it had revealed almost £14 million in commercial loans from individuals during the election campaign, while the Conservatives declared at least £20 million in loans.

Both parties have strenuously denied any wrongdoing with regard to the loans, or their process of nominating peerages.

The Honours Act was introduced in 1925 after it emerged that the then Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, had been selling peerages to party donors.