Peer Suspended Over Drug Scandal
September 10, 1998 - 0:0
LONDON -- He is one of the youngest members of the House of Lords, scion of an ancient clan. But he confesses he has no interest in politics, preferring to run a motor scooter shop. Just as well. Because the 10th Lord Hardwicke found himself suspended from the Conservative Party caucus in the House of Lords Monday over reports he dealt in cocaine in the hallowed corridors of parliament.
Expulsion could follow. "The Conservative Party has a robust anti-drugs policy and we condemn drug-dealing in all forms," a party spokeswoman said, speaking anonymously. There was no immediate comment from Joseph Phillip Sebastian Yorke, just 27, who admits he only shows up at the House of Lords twice a week to collect 140 pounds ($220) in attendance fees. The tabloid News of the World reported Sunday that the peer tried to sell cocaine to one of its undercover reporters at the House of Lords when lawmakers were recalled last week to debate stricter security legislation after a fatal bombing in Northern Ireland. The Times on Monday quoted an unidentified senior Conservative Party source as saying that Lord Cranborne, the party's leader in the House of Lords, gave Hardwicke "a chance to defend himself and clear his name.
You can take it that he hasn't justified his position at all and such behavior will not be tolerated," the Times quoted the source as saying. Under party rules, the matter likely now will be referred to the party's new ethics and integrity committee. Set up to counter allegations of sleaze, it has the power to expel Hardwicke from the party.
Hardwicke -- "Lord Scooty" to his friends -- was just three when he inherited the peerage from his grandfather, his father having died the year before. News reports said he only agreed to take his seat in the House of Lords at the request of his cousin, Lord Hesketh, a former Tory chief whip. He rarely takes part in debates, saying he finds public speaking boring.
His family once owned extensive properties in Cambridgeshire, north of London, but the 5th earl gambled the family fortune away and the 10th earl lives in a modest London apartment. (AP)
Expulsion could follow. "The Conservative Party has a robust anti-drugs policy and we condemn drug-dealing in all forms," a party spokeswoman said, speaking anonymously. There was no immediate comment from Joseph Phillip Sebastian Yorke, just 27, who admits he only shows up at the House of Lords twice a week to collect 140 pounds ($220) in attendance fees. The tabloid News of the World reported Sunday that the peer tried to sell cocaine to one of its undercover reporters at the House of Lords when lawmakers were recalled last week to debate stricter security legislation after a fatal bombing in Northern Ireland. The Times on Monday quoted an unidentified senior Conservative Party source as saying that Lord Cranborne, the party's leader in the House of Lords, gave Hardwicke "a chance to defend himself and clear his name.
You can take it that he hasn't justified his position at all and such behavior will not be tolerated," the Times quoted the source as saying. Under party rules, the matter likely now will be referred to the party's new ethics and integrity committee. Set up to counter allegations of sleaze, it has the power to expel Hardwicke from the party.
Hardwicke -- "Lord Scooty" to his friends -- was just three when he inherited the peerage from his grandfather, his father having died the year before. News reports said he only agreed to take his seat in the House of Lords at the request of his cousin, Lord Hesketh, a former Tory chief whip. He rarely takes part in debates, saying he finds public speaking boring.
His family once owned extensive properties in Cambridgeshire, north of London, but the 5th earl gambled the family fortune away and the 10th earl lives in a modest London apartment. (AP)