Lord Cranborne was sacked from his position on Tuesday night after completing a behind-the-scenes deal with the government to retain nearly 100 hereditary peers in a reformed upper chamber.

Conservative Party chairman Michael Ancram, himself an earl, told BBC Radio 4's The World At One programme no deal had been done as Lord Cranborne was not authorised to make any such agreement.

Mr Ancram went on to deny the incident had damaged William Hague.

Tony Benn: Damage an elected second chamber

He said: "He actually accepted William Hague was right to sack him.

"William Hague was met with a situation where I think it was an attempt to bounce the Conservative party into an untenable position where we would have to compromise over a very strict constitutional principle which we have adopted throughout this argument.

"Mr Hague dealt with it very swiftly and with great determination. We were all saddened to see Robert Cranborne go but Robert himself accepted he had behaved outrageously in this regard and there was no alternative."

It is a position supported by many in the party.

Conservative backbencher Theresa Gorman told BBC News Online: "William Hague feels strongly that the Lords does need reforming, but he feels that Cranborne didn't have a mandate to stitch up a deal

"After all, if you're the captain of the ship and you ask one of your lieutenants to do a bit of negotiating, that's not the same as saying you can go up to the rudder and change the direction."

It was an issue of "the toffs versus the commoners", she said.

Bill Cash MP said: "At this juncture, I think William Hague has quite rightly got the support of the Conservative backbenchers in the House of Commons.

"I also note that Robert Cranborne said himself that he had behaved outrageously. That seems to speak for itself.

"It seems quite clear to me that William Hague is in the right."

Alan Beith: "Extraordinary"

While many Labour MPs are revelling in the Tory crisis, left-wing backbencher Tony Benn, also the son of a hereditary peer, believes the crisis might affect the future of an elected second chamber.

He said: "The hereditary peers are thrown because all the active ones will be elected.

"The prime minister is thrown because he will continue to appoint and we shall be even more further away in my opinion from the moment when we do have a second chamber which all civilised countries in the world have long ago taken for granted."

Alan Beith, Liberal Democrat deputy leader, said it was extraordinary to see Mr Hague getting rid of his leader in the Lords and losing his deputy leader.

But this could speed up the reform of the upper chamber.