Theresa May appoints 13 new peers to House of Lords

Theresa May has appointed 13 new peers to the House of Lords, following a series of damaging defeats on Brexit legislation.

Downing Street announced that the Queen had approved the list of peerages, which includes nine Conservatives, three Labour peers and one from the DUP.

They include former Tory MPs Sir Eric Pickles, Peter Lilley and Andrew Tyrie, and Iain McNicol, who recently stepped down as general secretary of the Labour Party.

However, the government suffered 15 defeats on its flagship EU Withdrawal Bill in recent weeks, with the Tories not enjoying a majority in the Lords.