Overview

• Baroness Frances D’Souza wrote on Lords headed paper to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in February about her own speeding penalties and the risk of losing her licence.
• Standards Commissioner Martin Jelley found she sought to influence an active investigation, and the conduct committee accepted his findings and rejected her appeal.
• The committee said she should have used the court process and warned her approach risked eroding public trust by appearing to seek personal advantage.
• She acknowledged the letter was inappropriate, said she acted on advice from a fellow peer who is a former Met commissioner, and argued a ban would hamper her attendance at Parliament.
• The Met considered but declined a criminal investigation, referred the matter to the Lords authorities, and she now faces an eight-week suspension pending any final House approval; she was charged and summoned to magistrates over the speeding offences.