House of Lords peer faces suspension after raising speeding fines with Met Police 

A peer in the house of lords has faced an investigation following a letter she sent to the commissioner of the Met Police regarding several speeding fines in a 20mph zone in London.

Baroness D’Souza stated that she wanted to have an “open conversation” about the 20mph speed limit, however Commissioner for Standards Martin Jelley concluded that her actions were a breach of the “personal honour” provision of the Lord’s code of conduct.

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What did Baroness D’Souza do?

Baroness D-Souza wrote to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley in February 2025 regarding several speeding offences.

In her letter, she stated that she had accrued a total of £400 in fines, and that she could end up with 12 points on her driving licence. If this happens, D’Souza would have her licence suspended, which she highlighted would mean giving up attending Parliament as she lives deep in the countryside.

Finally, she ended her letter by questioning the accuracy of her speedometer, or the speed camera, in recording 21mph instead of 20mph.

Why does this matter?

The House of Lords Conduct Committee launched an investigation because it found that D’Souza had “sought to influence a live police investigation” within her capacity as a member of the house.

The fact the letter was sent on House of Lords headed notepaper also played a part, with Commissioner for Standards Mark Jelley saying this made it of parliamentary nature and “within my remit to investigate”.

Jelley also found that by mentioning the impact of the investigation on her role as a member of the house, D’Souza was attempting to leverage her position to influence the Commissioner of the Met Police to act on her potential prosecution.

You can appeal a speeding ticket if you feel one has been issued unfairly by simply ticking “not guilty” on the notice of intended prosecution (NIP). You’ll have to go to court to plead your case, and it can be extremely difficult to prove your innocence.

Baroness D’Souza’s response

In her written response to this investigation, D’Souza claimed that she wrote to Sir Rowley because she “thought there was a case to be made on the recent 20 mph speed restrictions in London” and she “knows Sir Mark having served with him as a member of the Westminster Abbey Institute Council of Reference.”

She also claims to have used House of Lords headed notepaper because “this was the context in which I was previously acquainted with Sir Mark. My purpose being the hope that
Sir Mark would refer my case to the Fixed Penalty Office for review.”

D’Souza recognises in her letter that this could invoke a question of honour, and that she does not have an excuse for this. However she does also go on to state that her intention was not to get Sir Rowley to overlook the speeding offence.

What happens now?

The Standard’s Committee investigation found that Baroness D’Souza’s actions were against the Lord’s code of conduct. Jelley states in his report that the letter was written within her parliamentary activities, and that she was therefore bound by personal honour.

D’Souza acknowledges that the letter was “very unwise, to say the least”, but cases like this can have an impact on the House of Lords by reducing public trust.

An eight week suspension for Baroness D’Souza has been recommended.

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