Lords of misrule: Sewel’s alleged actions were scandalous – yet the greater embarrassment is the state of Britain’s second chamber

The revelation by a weekend newspaper of Lord Sewel’s apparent pastimes feels like a throwback to the 1980s, when politicians were regular and easy fodder for the tabloids. That a powerful man seems to have a penchant for drugs and prostitutes comes as little shock. But the fact that the peer presumably believed he stood little to no chance of getting caught out is more surprising – if equally dispiriting. Whichever way you look at it, Lord Sewel’s behaviour is unacceptable, and doubly so for an individual holding a position of considerable responsibility in Parliament. That he was not only Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords but also chairman of the Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee makes the charge of hypocrisy all too obvious.