Lord Sewel has been suspended from the British Labour Party following allegations that he took drugs with prostitutes.
The peer remained a member of the party despite giving up the whip under parliamentary conventions when he became deputy speaker of the Lords.
Scotland Yard has been called in to investigate the former minister after The Sun on Sunday published video allegedly showing him snorting cocaine while romping naked with two women.
An investigation by the House of Lords’ sleaze watchdog that could lead to his expulsion from Parliament is also expected to be launched.
A Labour spokesman said: “Lord Sewel has been suspended from the Labour Party.”
Sewel quit his £84,500 a year role, which included overseeing conduct issues in the Upper House, after the newspaper’s dramatic expose.
Its footage shows the peer snorting white powder – alleged to be cocaine – from a prostitute’s breasts using a £5 note.
He is also pictured wearing an orange bra and leather jacket as he reclines smoking a cigarette.
The 69-year-old apparently paid one of the women for the night with a cheque for £200, dated July 22nd.
In a conversation reportedly recorded in Sewel's flat in Dolphin Square, Pimlico, a couple of miles from Parliament, the peer branded David Cameron "the most facile, superficial prime minister there's ever been".
He labels mayor of London Boris Johnson "a joke" and a "public school upper class twit", and describes Scottish MP Alex Salmond as a "silly, pompous prat".
Lord Speaker Baroness D’Souza branded the married father’s behaviour “shocking and unacceptable” and said she was referring him to the police.
“These serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the Metropolitan Police for investigation as a matter of urgency,” she said.
Earlier this month, Sewel wrote an article on the new rules that stated: “Scandals make good headlines. The requirement that members must always act on their personal honour has been reinforced.”
Police sources indicated they would assess the evidence after the referral from Baroness D’Souza, but pointed out that drug-taking allegations were notoriously difficult to prove when there was only video evidence, rather than substances that could be tested.
In between apparently snorting lines, Sewel is heard complaining that he struggles to afford the £1,000-a-month rent on the flat.
The peer is asked whether he receives expenses and explains that he now gets a flat-rate allowance of £200 a day. “It’s all changed and disappeared. People were making false claims,” he said.
“Members of her Lordship’s House who are right thieves, rogues and bastards at times. Wonderful people that they are.”
In fact, the per diem for attending the Lords is £300, and it did not apply to Sewel. As he declares his main residence is in Aberdeen, he was entitled to a tax-free office holder's allowance of £36,000 a year.
Labour MP John Mann insisted Sewel should retire from the Lords voluntarily before he is expelled.
“He chaired the committee that makes the decisions on discipline. It was his committee,” the Bassetlaw MP said.
“He cannot possibly go in front of his own committee and expect a serious hearing. He is a disgrace. He should retire and resign immediately.
“A lifetime ban would be the committee’s only option. He needs to save them and himself further embarrassment and go now.”