Former BBC journalist Jon Sopel has been corrected by Tory MPs after incorrectly claiming that the Conservatives have a majority in the House of Lords.
Sopel made the claim while criticizing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for blaming Labour peers for delays with the Rwanda Bill.
However, Tory MPs and other social media users were quick to point out that the party does not have a majority in the unelected chamber.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Jon, please explain, using numbers, why you think the Conservatives have a majority in the House of Lords.”
Home Office minister Chris Philp added: “The Conservatives do not have a majority in the Lords, Jon.”
The Conservatives have 278 out of a total of 789 peers in the House of Lords. There are 172 Labour peers, 182 crossbenchers, 80 Lib Dems, 37 non-affiliated, 25 bishops and more than a dozen from other parties.
Sopel’s attack on Sunak comes after the PM gave a Downing Street press conference on his Rwanda Bill. Sunak said MPs and peers would sit through the night if necessary to get the legislation through Parliament.
