By The Associated Press From Mashable

The deputy speaker of the House of Lords, John Sewel, has resigned his position after publication of photos and a video allegedly showing him using cocaine with prostitutes.

Lords Speaker Baroness D’Souza Sunday called Sewel’s alleged behavior “shocking and unacceptable” and said she is calling in police to investigate. As deputy speaker, one of his roles was enforcing standards in the House of Lords.

“These serious allegations will be referred to the House of Lords commissioner for standards and the Metropolitan Police for investigation as a matter of urgency,” D’Souza said, adding “the House of Lords will continue to uphold standards in public life.”

The Sun on Sunday newspaper published photographs of Sewel naked and appearing to snort cocaine along with snippets of his conversations with women, who are said to be prostitutes.

Sewel, 69, who is married with children, has stepped down from his special position in Britain’s upper house. He remains a member of the House of Lords.

Recently, Sewel wrote for the Huffington Post regarding the introduction of an agreement in which the House of Lords can expel a member permanently for poor behavior and breaking the code of conduct. He made mention of “sting operations” and that “scandals make good headlines” in the piece.

“The requirement that Members must always act on their personal honour has been reinforced. An indication of willingness to breach the code is now itself a breach of the code, even if nothing more has been done,” Sewel wrote. “For this reason Members caught in sting operations by journalists have been found guilty of breaking the code even though nothing happened beyond a discussion about what they might do for future (bogus) employers.”

Additional reporting by Mashable

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