He tabled a motion calling for the government to bring forward legislation to enable peers to retire, to end by-elections for hereditary peers, to remove members convicted of a serious criminal offence and to put the House of Lords Appointments Commission on a statutory footing.
"The current statutory offences are too specific to offer a comprehensive definition, while the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud is so wide that it offers little guidance on the difference between fraudulent and lawful conduct, " it said.