Lord Young says he was not asleep in Lords

On 14 March, Lord Young was accused of being asleep in the House of Lords chamber.

He said he had in fact been listening to the debate with his ear against one of the speakers embedded in the bench. He said today he had his hearing aid batteries in and so didn't have to rely on the speaker.

He added that he wanted to "set the record straight" and accused the government whip, Lady Bloomfield had "discourteously dismissed" him, and said the event had damaged his reputation, and that of the House of Lords.