Police in London have searched the flat of Lord Sewel after allegations he took drugs with prostitutes.

Officers entered the property after announcing they would investigate the scandal.

No arrests have yet been made.

A video obtained by The Sun On Sunday appears to show the 69-year-old taking cocaine with prostitutes at his Pimlico flat.

In the video Lord Sewel is pictured wearing an orange bra and leather jacket as he smokes a cigarette.

The maximum sentence for possession of cocaine is seven years in prison.

Scotland Yard said: "The warrant was executed at 6pm at an address in central London by officers from the Special Enquiry Team of the Homicide and Major Crime Command.

"No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are ongoing."

The married father-of-four immediately resigned as deputy speaker of the House of Lords after the revelations appeared.

On Monday he announced he would step aside from parliament altogether.

Lord Sewel wrote to the Clerk of Parliaments to say: "I wish to take leave of absence from the House as soon as it can be arranged.

"I also wish to make clear that in doing so I have no intention of returning to the House in any way until the current investigations have been completed, when in the light of their outcome I will review my long-term position."

Once granted, a leave of absence means a peer cannot attend the Lords without giving three months' notice in writing.

Lord Sewel will also not be able to claim any allowances.

Footage

Further footage of the former Labour minister saw him insulting other politicians.

He says David Cameron is "the most facile, superficial Prime Minister there has ever been. He just shoots from the hip".

The Lords commissioner for standards Paul Kernaghan, a former police chief constable, is carrying out an initial assessment of the allegations following an official complaint from the Liberal Democrats.

He is expected to announce within 48 hours whether a full parliamentary investigation will go ahead.

If so then Lord Sewel could become the first peer to be expelled under tough new rules he helped to introduce, and which only came into force on 16 July.

In an article he wrote earlier this month outlining the changes, he said: "Scandals make good headlines. The requirement that members must always act on their personal honour has been reinforced."

Under the new act, Lord Sewel would face being excluded from the House of Lords either temporarily or permanently.

The cross-party Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee - which Lord Sewel chaired until the scandal broke - will then decide on a punishment.

However, if Lord Sewel is convicted and jailed for more than a year he would be automatically barred from the House of Lords.