His comments echoed those of a senior Labour front-bencher who said Mr Hague had turned a "win, win" situation into a "win, win, win, win" position for his party.

Lord Fraser: "I regard this as a serious mistake"

Lord Fraser quit his post on the front-bench in protest at what he described as the "completely unacceptable" decision to remove Lord Cranborne.

Mr Hague sacked Lord Cranborne after he brokered a deal with the government - without his leader's authority - to keep 91 hereditary peers during the first phase of House of Lords reform.

Fraser: Unnecessary spat

Lord Fraser told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The conclusion that he [Lord Cranborne] reached was the right one and I find it in a sense an unnecessary political spat because that is what we wanted to achieve."

William Hague: No deal, but accepting outcome

He said the dispute should be seen in the context of relations between the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

"I certainly don't think it should be elevated to anything greater than that," he said.

The sacking and resignation are the latest twist in an on-going battle between the government and the Tory party on Lords reform.

Hague: Blair abandoning principles

William Hague: Lord Cranborne was "absolutely wrong"

Speaking before Lord Fraser resigned, Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he would not be entering in to any deal with the government.

Baroness Jay: Labour will press ahead with its plans

The Tory leader said he planned to accept the outcome of Lord Cranborne's talks, but added: "I'm not doing a deal over it and I'm not having the hands of the party tied."

In a letter, he later accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of abandoning his principles.

He wrote: "By putting forward a proposal to keep hereditary peers, you have completely abandoned the one principle that you said motivated your reform - namely, that hereditary peers were, as you said a fortnight ago, 'a democratic monstrosity'."

Baroness Jay: It was meant to be "..a grown-up way of achieving consensus"

But Labour leader in the Lords Baroness Jay said: "If we haven't got Tory co-operation then we will simply press ahead with the bill as we intended to do."

Mr Hague's decision to sack Lord Cranborne has put the Tory party in the Commons and Lords at loggerheads.

Many Tory peers are backing the approach of their form leader and further resignations are widely predicted.

Lord Cranborne: Forced out after agreeing secret interim measure on Lords reform

At present 759 hereditary peers can sit in the Lords. Tory opposition to their abolition had threatened to undermine the government's entire legislative programme.

The newly-appointed Tory leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, has given his backing to the proposal to keep 91 hereditaries in the interim.

Mr Hague has announced the new deputy will be Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish with Lord Henley becoming the new chief whip.

Cranborne: I behaved outrageously

Lord Cranborne has said he thought at the time he was doing the right thing in forging a deal, but admitted he had "behaved quite outrageously".

He said he had "exceeded his authority and gone behind his leader's back".

But he added: "In any conflict between loyalty to the party and loyalty to this House, my judgement must be about what I think is best for the future of this House."