Lord Laird defends expense claim despite only voting twice & making no House of Lords speaking appearances

Lord Laird claimed £48,000 last year in expenses without making any spoken contributions in the House of Lords - and having voted just twice. More than 100 peers claimed nearly £1.3m in expenses without making any spoken contributions in the House of Lords for a year, research has shown. Speaking on The View last night Lord Laird set out why he believed he was worth the money. Lord John Laird went on to say that his frail health meant his office was too far away to attend each vote. The Electoral Reform Society has criticised "couch potato peers", and warned that it showed the culture of "something for nothing" was growing within the Lords. Stephen got the views of commentators Newton Emerson and Malachi O'Doherty.