Former Lord Speaker Baroness D’Souza is suspended from House after lobbying Met Police chief about her ‘unfair’ speeding fines

A former Lord Speaker who was caught speeding has been suspended from the House for eight weeks – after attempting to influence a police investigation with her position.

Baroness D’Souza was fined £400 for speeding up to 27mph in a 20mph zone.

The sanction against her was approved by her peers after she attempted to persuade a ruling by using official House of London headed paper with a letter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley.

In her correspondence, she said, if she loses her license, she wouldn’t be able to continue her duties in Parliament.

She wrote: ‘I am enclosing copies of the most recent notices and ask if this is a fair response for exceeding the speed limit while we are still learning what a 20-mile speed actually feels like?’

She then questions whether the reading on the speedometer is accurate.

Lady D’Souza has now spoken out about the letter, saying it was ‘inappropriate’, adding ‘with the benefit of hindsight, I deeply regret it’.  

Despite this, the independent crossbencher appealed against the eight-week suspension from the unelected chamber, where peers can claim a flat rate attendance allowance of £371, as ‘unduly severe’.

Lady D’Souza has now spoken out about the letter saying it was ‘inappropriate’ adding ‘with the benefit of hindsight, I deeply regret it’

The House of Lords Conduct Committee said in its report that Lady D’Souza chose to highlight how losing her license would impede her parliamentary work, which showed the seriousness of her misjudgment.

‘She took advantage of her privileged position as a member of the House to exert improper influence upon an investigation.

‘No one who is not a parliamentarian would have possessed such an advantage.’

It added: ‘Moreover, the striking feature of this case, which distinguishes it from all previous cases in which members have sought to influence judicial or police processes, is that Lady D’Souza, by writing to Sir Mark, sought to benefit herself.

‘She could have followed due process, attending court and explaining to the magistrate how a lengthy ban would impede her parliamentary work.

‘Instead, she sought to bypass this by writing, as a member of the House, directly to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.’

Speaking in the upper chamber, conduct committee chairman, Lord Kakkar, said: ‘This was a serious breach of the code of conduct.

‘Baroness D’Souza sought to use her privileged position as a member of this House to influence a live criminal process for her benefit.

Baroness D’Souza did acknowledge that Sir Mark, who oversees policing in the capital and leads on Britain’s counter-terrorism efforts, had ‘much other business to deal with’

‘Not only was this a serious breach of the rule that members must act on their personal honour, but such behaviour risks undermining public confidence in the House.

‘The conduct committee concluded that a significant suspension was warranted.’

Lady D’Souza, who served as presiding officer in the Lords from 2011-2016 also found herself at the centre of controversy around her expenses. 

This included a £230 bill for a chauffeur-driven car that waited four hours while she watched an opera a mile from Parliament.