What’s the expiry-date of a Westminster scandal?

The House of Lords privileges and conduct committee recommended today that the former Lib Dem peer, Lord Lester, be suspended from the chamber until 2022, after he was accused of offering ‘sexual inducements’ and sexually harassing a complainant – which he strenuously denies.

If the House of Lords agrees with the recommendation (which it will decide in a vote on Thursday) it will be the longest suspension of a politician in parliament’s modern history.