Carole Walker reports on new revelations about Lord Cranborne's meetings with senior Labour officials

Lord Cranborne was dismissed as Tory leader in the upper house for exceeding his authority. William Hague then snubbed the agreement.

Now more details have emerged about just how far Lord Cranborne went.

Downing Street says he met the prime minister's official spokesman, Alistair Campbell, to discuss details of the timing and presentation of a deal between the government and the opposition.

Under the agreement, 91 hereditary peeers would remain during a transitional phase on the understanding that the Lords Reform Bill would go through without undue delay.

A senior Tory source says the latest details confirm that the peer was working with the government behind Mr Hague's back to stitch up a deal which was not in the public interest.

The source said it vindicated Mr Hague's decision to sack him.

'Surprised'

But on BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme, Lord Cranborne's former deputy, Lord Fraser, sought to play down the latest revelations.

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

Asked whether he had known of Lord Cranborne's two Downing Street meetings, he replied: "I think everyone is aware that Robert Cranborne had been speaking directly to the government and I'm surprised that there should be any sense of revelation about this.

"If he was going to negotiate, he was obviously going to negotiate with a number of people."

Mr Hague has sought to shore up his leadership

He added: "It fills me with some gloom that William Hague's office seem to be intent on poisoning Robert Cranborne's reputation rather than reflecting on how best working relationships with the Tory peers in the Lords might be re-established."

Meanwhile, the government's plans to reform the House of Lords have received a boost from a poll showing that most voters back moves to end hereditary peers' voting rights.

A survey in The Observer newspaper suggested 54% want either all or most hereditary peers to lose their voting rights as soon as possible and without waiting for long-term reform.

'Something's got to change'

The Observer poll found only 27% wanted to keep the status quo in the Lords. Less than half - 44% - wanted an elected second chamber.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Howe added to Mr Hague's woes on Saturday when he described the events of the past week as "tragic" for the Tories and said the party had been damaged by the affair.

On Thursday four peers rejected their leader's pleas and resigned while two others left the Tory fold to sit as independents.

On Friday Mr Hague sought to reassert his authority by threatening to fire any other member of his frontbench Lords team who stepped out of line.

Party damaged

Lord Howe told BBC News that Lord Cranborne's resignation or dismissal was "inevitable" after he struck a deal with the government.

He said: "[Former Tory Prime Minister] Harold Macmillan would have dismissed the matter as a little local difficulty and moved on with his authority strengthened."

Describing the week's events as a "tragedy" for the party, Lord Howe said real progress was being made on altering Labour's plans for reform of the Lords.