Swraj Paul faces suspension from House of Lords

London: Lord Swraj Paul, the Jalandhar-born millionaire and member of Britain’s House of Lords, is facing continuing public disgrace and likely suspension from the UK’s Upper House of Parliament, despite repaying £40,000 worth of accommodation expenses he should never have claimed.

He is one of the three South Asian-born peers, who are expected to be fined and suspended this coming week. The others are Baroness Uddin from Bangladesh and Tanzania-born Lord Amir Bhatia.

They feature on the front pages of British newspapers, which report that the House of Lords Standards and Privileges Committee is expe-cted to recommend “tough sanctions” against all three for abusing their expenses.

Lord Paul is expected to be suspended for four to six months, Lord Bhatia for six to 12 months and Baroness Uddin for 12 months to 18 months. Each of them will be expected to repay money — in Paul’s case this has already happened. In Baroness Uddin’s case, a massive £125,000 (nearly Rs. 1 crore) has to be repaid. In her case, there has also been a demand to have her subjected to a criminal investigation.

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