Martin granted peerage

Thursday, 2 July 2009 12:00 AM

Michael Martin has been granted a peerage despite concerns over his effect on the Lords.
The Lords Appointment Commission had raised concerns earlier in the week that the former Speaker of the Commons could lower the reputation of the chamber.

But the prime minister overruled the vetting panel.

The former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Jay, who now chairs the panel, is thought to have been the first chair to have raised issues over a an elevation.

Speakers are usually elevated to the Lords by convention, but with Mr Martin the first to be ousted in 300 years, some peers were concerned about the message it would send to the public.

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