UK: House of Lords suspends Swaraj Paul

London: Britain's House of Lords handed three of its members lengthy suspensions or Thursday for wrongly claiming thousands of pounds in parliamentary expenses.

Peers voted unanimously to approve the sanctions against Bangladeshi-born Manzila Pola Uddin, the first Muslim woman to enter the Lords, Indian business magnate Swaraj Paul, and businessman Amir Bhatia.

Baroness Uddin, a one-time member of the opposition Labour party, was suspended until the end of the parliamentary session in early 2012 and told to repay 125,349.10 pounds (S$256,274.30)

Lord Bhatia, an independent peer, was suspended for eight months and has already repaid more than 27,000 pounds in wrongly claimed expenses.

And Lord Paul, another one-time member of the Labour party and one of Britain's wealthiest men, was suspended for four months and has already returned 41,982 pounds.

The sanctions, ordered by the House of Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee, are the toughest imposed on misbehaving members for 300 years.

A Labour spokesman said Paul had resigned his membership of the party, while Uddin had been suspended amid moves to expel her.