The leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party in the House of Lords, the upper house of parliament Lord Cranborne, has been sacked by the overall party leader, William Hague.

The dismissal follows Mr Hague's rejection of a deal Lord Cranborne had made with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to solve the row between the government and the upper house on constitutional reform.

Mr Blair's government intends to remove voting rights from those Lords who inherit their seats in the chamber.

The Conservative Party has vowed to oppose this at all cost, promising continued disruption of government legislation which has to be passed by the House of Lords.