By Blaine Williams

An emergency 'clean-up' of the Lords is underway with Jack Straw, justice secretary, bringing forward new legislation to bring Lords regulation more into line with that of MPs.

The new legislation will force all peers to be permanent residents of the UK and pay full British tax.

The move will mean that members who decline to disclose where they reside for tax reasons could risk expulsion if they remain to keep their affairs undercover.

Changing the law to ensure peers who are jailed for more than a year for a criminal offence would be stripped of their peerage, bringing the rules of the House of Lords more in line with those applying to MPs, is also being seriously considered.

Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal Democrat, tabled a private member's bill last year asking for all peers to pay full British tax and remain permanent members of the UK for tax purposes.

The bill had cross party support but stood little chance of being passed as some members said they would not back the plan.

Mr Straw has decided to add this key measure into the constitutional renewal bill.

However, peers who have already been found guilty of criminal offenses may escape expulsion as the new rules may not be applied retrospectively.

Mr Straw said: "We will certainly pass a law to ensure that if you have been convicted of a serious criminal offence, you could not sit in the House of Lords.

"There is a separate issue about whether any change of the law which is adverse to individuals could or should apply retrospectively. So leave aside those individuals who have indeed been convicted of serious offences in the past."

The new rules might not allow the expulsion of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, who was convicted of perjury, and Lord Black of Crossharbour, who is serving a jail sentence in America for fraud.