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U.K. House of Lords suspends two over corruption claims

Other News Materials 21 May 2009 00:10 (UTC +04:00)

Britain's House of Lords voted Wednesday to suspend two of its members over corruption claims - the first time a lord has been barred from the chamber since 1642, a spokesman for the chamber said, CNN reported.

Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Lord Truscott allegedly agreed to vote for changes to a law in exchange for cash, but the person offering the bribe turned out to be an undercover reporter.

The suspension is officially for breaching the Code of Conduct, which states that members are required to "always act on their personal honor."

They will not face criminal charges, London's Metropolitan Police said.

The suspension will last until the next session of parliament begins in November. Only the Queen can permanently strip a lord of his title.

Both Taylor and Truscott are associated with the governing Labor party. Thomas Taylor joined the House of Lords, the upper house of parliament, in 1978. Peter Truscott got his baronage in 2004.

Their historic suspension comes a day after the speaker of the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, was forced to resign - the first such resignation in more than 300 years.

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