'People's' peers take their seats in Lords

TWO new crossbench peers took their seats in the House of Lords yesterday.

Royal Opera House chief executive and former BBC journalist Tony Hall and surgeon Professor Ajay Kakkar were named as "people's peers" in a round of recommendations from the House of Lords Appointments Commission last month.

Lord Hall was director then chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs from 1989 to 2001 and oversaw the establishment of the BBC News website, Radio 5 Live and BBC Parliament. He was appointed chief executive of the Royal Opera House in 2001.

Lord Kakkar is professor of surgical sciences at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University. He is a consultant surgeon to University College Hospital, London, and has a research interest in the prevention and treatment of blood clots, particularly in cancer patients.