A FORMER Brexit Party MEP has been given a seat in the House of Lords.

Claire Fox was elected to the European Parliament last year.

But her nomination by the Brexit Party started a storm of controversy in Warrington.

She is a former core activist and organiser for the Revolutionary Communist Party.

After the 1993 bombing, which killed Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball, the Revolutionary Communist Party’s official newsletter stated that they defended 'the right of the Irish people to take whatever measures necessary in their struggle for freedom'.

Fox was also a member of the Irish Freedom Movement, which backed dissident republicanism.

Colin Parry, the father of Tim, said at the time Ms Fox's position is 'absolutely disgraceful'.

Today she was one of 36 people to be given a seat in the House of Lords.

Others nominated include Ken Clarke, Frank Field and Ian Botham.

Speaking today, Labour's Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said: "The youngest victim of the Warrington bombings was just three years old.

Warrington Guardian:

"Claire Fox was a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party who defended the attack in the days after, and she has never publicly apologised.

"Surely the Prime Minister must understand the hurt that giving her a seat in the House or Lords will cause to the families of those who lost their children in this heinous attack?"

Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "Based on the average claim of a peer, the 36 new peers are likely to cost £1.1 million a year in expenses from the taxpayer.

"By appointing a host of ex-MPs, party loyalists and his own brother, the PM is inviting total derision. That he can get away with it shows what a private member's club this house is.

"The Lords was already the largest second chamber in the world. There are now over 800 unelected peers, voting on our laws for life.

"Is packing the Lords with party loyalists really a priority, as a pandemic rages across the world? This move is an absolute insult to voters. This is making a mockery of democracy.

"Today marks a nail in the coffin for the idea that the Lords is some kind of independent chamber of experts. It is a house of cronies and party loyalists - we need to see it scrapped and replaced with a fair-elected chamber that's fit for a democracy."