Lord asks minister Liz Truss a question on Zoom from moving car

‘Secretary of state, I’m going to go to Lord Robathan in a moment and you’re going to be a little bit surprised because he’s wearing a seat belt’

A peer has made a parliamentary first after he took part in a debate in the House of Lords from the back of a moving car.

Lord Robathan, a Conservative who joined the Lords in 2015 after standing down as an MP for South Leicestershire, asked a question of Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, via an online video call on Wednesday.

The chair of the EU International Agreements Sub-Committee, before whom Ms Truss was appearing, introduced Lord Robathan’s question by warning the minister not to be surprised his colleague was wearing a seatbelt.

“Secretary of state, I’m going to go to Lord Robathan in a moment and you’re going to be a little bit surprised because he’s wearing a seat belt.

“That’s because he’s coming back from an important family engagement — he’d hoped to get home but he can’t — I don’t think it’s because he’s expecting a particularly bumpy ride from your answers.”

The life peer then asked a question about what impact the American presidential election might have on trade negotiations, particularly if the Democratic candidate Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.

After Ms Truss had answered, the 69-year-old was wished a “safe journey home” by the chair of the committee, Lord Goldsmith, prompting Lord Robathan to add his recommendation to try the restaurant he had been eating at.