Labour peers are changing laws for cash, charging up to £120,000 to make an amendment. The four who have been caught include two former ministers and a former whip:

• Lord Truscott – former energy minister
• Lord Moonie – former defence minister
• Lord Snape – former Labour whip
• Lord Taylor

Of course, with a name like “Snape” it’s obvious he’s evil (if you don’t get the reference, you’ve obviously never read or seen any Harry Potter).

This is a breach of House of Lords Code of Conduct, which state that peers:

(c) must never accept any financial inducement as an incentive or reward for exercising parliamentary influence;
(d) must not vote on any bill or motion, or ask any question in the House or a committee, or promote any matter, in return for payment or any other material benefit (via Red Box)

Thus, there is no way that these for memebers of the Lords could “technically be in the clear”, except by virtue of the fact that they didn’t actually get any money from these undercover journalists.

These peers are, as one of them puts it, happy to “work within the rules, but the rules are meant to be bent sometimes.” Or, as the facts put it, break them with impunity. It is not acceptable that they can do this and get away with it. They should all lose their seats in the Lords if possible – and if not, they must lose the Labour whip and be thoroughly castigated by the House of Lords authorities.

Maybe they should even be arrested, as this is definitely “”misconduct in public office”, the very same law that Damian Green was incorrectly arrested under. If Labour do not act vey very fast to sort this out, they will be in deep trouble.

They’ve never been “whiter than white” and this has proved that now it is worse than it ever became under the Conservatives. After all, cash for questions is significantly less sleazy than cash for laws.