A deputy speaker of Britain\u2019s House of Lords responsible for upholding standards was facing calls Monday to quit the chamber after he was filmed allegedly snorting drugs off a prostitute\u2019s chest.
\nLord John Sewel resigned as deputy speaker of parliament\u2019s upper house and chairman of its privileges and conduct committee \u2014 an \u00a382,525 ($128,000, 115,600 euros) a year post \u2014 following a sting in The Sun newspaper on Sunday.
\nHowever, he remains under pressure to stand down from the chamber altogether.
\nThe police are aware of The Sun\u2019s footage showing him partying naked with two women and snorting a white powder, alleged to be cocaine.
\nThe main opposition Labour Party also suspended his membership Monday.
\nThe video showed the married 69-year-old father with a rolled-up five-pound note wedged in his left nostril, sniffing powder from a woman\u2019s breasts and from a tabletop.
\nThe former government minister is also seen relaxing in an orange bra and leather jacket belonging to one of the prostitutes in a picture published on Monday.
\nLords Speaker Baroness Frances D\u2019Souza said the \u201crevelations about the behavior of Lord Sewel\u201d were \u201cshocking and unacceptable.\u201d
\n\u201cThese serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the Metropolitan Police for investigation as a matter of urgency,\u201d she said.
\nIf he is found to have breached the code of conduct, Sewel could become the first peer to be expelled from the Lords under rules he helped to introduce.
\nA police spokesman said: \u201cWe are aware of The Sun\u2019s report. Any complaints we receive will be fully investigated.\u201d
\nIn the video, Sewel is heard discussing the allowance he gets as a peer and telling the two women: \u201cIt\u2019s not (for) lunch, luvvie darling \u2014 it\u2019s paying for this.\u201d<\/p>\n