Lord Botham's daughter hits back over Lords no-show due to living in North East

Sarah Botham, daughter of the former cricketer Lord Botham, has defended her father against what she described as an "unnecessarily aggressive and accusatory attack" over his absence from Westminster.

She stated that it was "never been a secret" that the independent crossbencher would have limited attendance in Parliament due to living in the North East and other commitments.

Sarah highlighted that her father had "always stated that he would not be clocking in simply to get his allowance" and drew attention to his charitable work through Beefy’s Charity Foundation, which supports causes such as Blood Cancer UK and the Batten Disease Family Association (BDFA). The defence came after Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock criticised Lord Botham for never attending because he is "in Australia all the time making money from foot massagers", referring to his TV advert appearances.

This criticism arose during a debate on reforming the unelected chamber and its members' participation. In response to Lord Foulkes's remarks, Ms Botham retorted: "This appears to be a rather petulant approach for an 82-year-old to take."

She further clarified: "My father is currently rather more active with the House of Lords than Lord Foulkes appreciates, albeit not by physically attending the Westminster building."

Lord Botham's daughter, Ms Botham, came to her father's defence over criticism of his attendance record in the House of Lords. She stated: "It has never been a secret that his actual presence in the house would be limited due to his overwhelming diary and the fact that he lives in the North East of England."

Highlighting his charitable work and collaboration with MPs on various issues, including potential involvement in parliamentary groups dedicated to blood cancer and cricket, she pointed out: "It’s not all about what is happening in the public domain which is why what Lord Foulkes has said publicly is really disappointing. " She argued that before attempting to discredit another peer, the facts should be checked: "It is probably best that going forward if anyone is to try and discredit another peer they should fact-check first."

Under current regulations, peers are only required to attend once in a session to maintain their seat. Despite Lord Botham's sparse activity in the chamber since being made a life peer by Boris Johnson in 2020 and being appointed as a trade envoy to Australia— a role that ended in July this year—Ms Botham puts forth that much of the work undertaken may not always be visible: "What is happening in the public domain isn't the whole story," she argued.

Records show Lord Botham has spoken twice in the Lords, last doing so in November 2020, and has not voted since July 2021. Over the past four years, he has tabled five written questions, with three in the previous month concerning private school taxation.