Digital boss Martha Lane Fox joins House of Lords
- Published
Martha Lane Fox, 40, will become the youngest female member of the Lords
Martha Lane Fox - one of the pioneers of online commerce and the government's "digital champion" - has joined the House of Lords.
The co-founder of the lastminute.com website will sit as a "crossbencher" who is not party political.
She will take the title Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho in the City of Westminster - her surname had to be hyphenated under Lords rules.
Aged 40, she becomes the youngest female member of the Lords.
Lady Lane-Fox was flanked by Labour's Baroness King of Bow and Conservative Lord Chadlington as she took her oath of allegiance to the Queen.
Composer Michael Berkeley, the presenter of BBC Radio 3's Private Passions, was also introduced to the Lords.
Taking the title Lord Berkeley of Knighton, he was flanked by Labour's Lord Williams of Elvel and fellow crossbencher Lord Burns as he took the oath.