Lord Sewel has announced he is to resign from the House of Lords with immediate effect as he apologised for the “pain and embarrassment” he has caused after the release of a film showing him allegedly taking cocaine with sex workers.

In a change of heart following the launch of a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan police into his alleged conduct, Sewel said he was resigning to avoid damaging an institution “I hold dear”.

Sewel, who had declined to apologise on Monday night when he announced he would take a leave of absence from the House of Lords, heeded growing calls for him to resign altogether in letter on Tuesday morning to the clerk of the parliaments, David Beamish.

In a statement, the crossbench peer said: “I have today written to the clerk of the parliaments terminating my membership of the House of Lords. The question of whether my behaviour breached the code of conduct is important, but essentially technical. The bigger questions are whether my behaviour is compatible with membership of the House of Lords and whether my continued membership would damage and undermine public confidence in the House of Lords. I believe the answer to both these questions means that I can best serve the house by leaving it.

“As a subordinate, second chamber the House of Lords is an effective, vital but undervalued part of our political system. I hope my decision will limit and help repair the damage I have done to an institution I hold dear. Finally, I want to apologise for the pain and embarrassment I have caused.”

Lord Sewel: timeline of events following Sun on Sunday revelations Read more

Sewel’s decision will raise questions about whether Paul Kernaghan, the House of Lords commissioner for standards, will continue with his investigation into whether the peer broke the code of conduct for the upper house. Kernaghan, who has launched a preliminary investigation after receiving a complaint from the Lord speaker, Lady D’Souza, will make a decision on whether to launch a full inquiry after Sewel’s resignation.

The peer’s resignation will have no impact on the police investigation that was launched on Monday when detectives searched his Westminster flat where he allegedly took cocaine with sex workers. Detectives from the Met’s special inquiry team of the homicide and major crime command (HMCC) searched Sewel’s Dolphin Square flat at 6pm under a warrant issued at Westminster magistrates court issued under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Sewel had indicated on Sunday night that he planned to remain as a member of the House of Lords after a video of him allegedly taking cocaine with sex workers was published by the Sun on Sunday. But he faced mounting pressure on Monday to resign from the House of Lords with immediate effect after former Commons speaker Lady Boothroyd described him as a “bad apple” who had brought the upper house into disrepute. The crossbench peer had resigned as deputy speaker on Sunday and had resigned from his post overseeing standards and privileges in the upper house as chairman of committees.

Boothroyd told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that he should go further. “I think the best thing that could happen now – and I know he has said he is going to relinquish his post as chairman of ways and means – [is] he should take a quiet way out of the back door of the House of Lords. I am sad for his family.”

D’Souza, who described Sewel’s behaviour on Sunday as “shocking and unacceptable”, suggested he may have breached the House of Lords code of conduct, which obliges peers to abide by the seven principles laid down by the committee on standards in public life. These include the requirement to act with integrity.

Lady Stowell, leader of the Lords, said: “I welcome Lord Sewel’s decision to resign permanently. For the House of Lords to earn the confidence of the public, all of us must respect the privileges that come with a peerage and recognise that – because we are unelected – it is especially important to meet the standards the public have a right to expect, and to act swiftly when we fail.”







