Could peers just be old fools?

A while back there was a news story about an old man who pretended to be a war hero.

He'd been a cook in the army but decided that was far too mundane and wanted more prestige.

So he bought a bunch of medals from an antique shop and went around pretending he'd single handedly defeated the Nazis in North Africa, or something like that.

An MP I spoke to suggested the current "peers for hire" scandal was similar in its simplicity.

He reckoned it would be difficult for a peer to change a bill in the way being suggested.

Instead he thought if peers had been saying what was reported, they were merely inflating their role to win consultancy contracts.

If that's the case then the losers in this whole affair have been the companies hiring peers.

Lord Taylor of Blackburn has apparently lost his "consultancy" with Nottingham based credit check company Experian.

The Guardian reports today: Experian said it was "surprised" by the Labour peer's descriptions to undercover reporters of his role for the firm.

"We have agreed that Lord Taylor will retire with immediate effect," a spokesman said.

Taylor is the second peer to lose a consultancy in the row over possible abuses. Lord Truscott resigned from Landis+Gyr on Wednesday night.