Lord Sewel has announced he is taking a ‘leave of absence’ from the House of Lords. In a statement sent to the Parliamentary authorities this evening, Sewel says he will be stepping out of the limelight until the investigation into his alleged behaviour is complete:
‘I wish to take leave of absence from the House as soon as it can be arranged. I also wish to make clear that in doing so I have no intention of returning to the House in any way until the current investigations have been completed, when in the light of their outcome I will review my long term position. I believe this is compatible with due process.’
The Clark of Parliaments David Beamish notes that Sewel’s leave will take effect from September 7, the next day the House of Lords will be sitting, and he won’t be able to return without giving three months’ written notice. During this period, he won’t be able to claim any allowances either.
It was inevitable that Sewel would have to stand aside — as well as resigning as deputy speaker — as pressure has increased throughout today. The former speaker Lady Boothroyd described Sewel as a ‘bad apple’ and advised him to ‘take a quiet way out of the back door’. David Cameron endorsed his decision to step down as deputy Lords speaker:
‘These are very serious allegations. I think it’s right he has stood down from his committee posts and I’m sure further questions will be asked about whether it is appropriate to have someone legislating and acting in the House of Lords if they have genuinely behaved in this way. It’s still going to take some time, I suspect, to get to the full truth.’
Sewel agrees with the Prime Minister that there is a way to go until the full story is known. There have been calls for Sewel to retire from the Lords immediately but he has decided to stick around — for now.
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