Indian-origin pizza tycoon made British peer

An Indian-origin donor to the Liberal Democrat party is among 30 new peers announced by British Prime Minister David Cameron here today.
Rumi Verjee, a multi-millionaire who brought the Domino's pizza chain to Britain, becomes Lord Verjee in what has been described as one of the most controversial appointments.
The Ugandan-born Indian entrepreneur is believed to be worth an estimated 125 million pounds.
He has donated 770,000 pounds to Britain's coalition partners, the Lib Dems, since May 2010 - mainly to help with the development of minority ethnic candidates.
Last month, he had been named in a "cash for honours" row by 'The Sunday Times' newspaper after his name appeared on a Lib Dem list of those chosen to be honoured with a peerage.

Another Lib Dem donor, Ministry of Sound boss James Palumbo who has given 650,000 pounds to the party since 2011, also features on the Lib Dem list of new peers.

The full list of new peers released by Downing Street includes 14 from the ruling Conservative party, 10 Lib Dems, five Labour and one Green.
Nominations for peerages are put forward by each of the Westminster party leaders and are "vetted" by the House of Lords appointments commission.
Speaking here yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he would like the current system of appointments to be scrapped but, in the meantime, he would "discharge his right" to nominate people who supported the Lib Dems and shared its values.

Each of the three main parties has selected people who have made substantial donations to them in the past.
Sir Anthony Bamford, the head of the JCB construction firm, is one of the new Tory peers whose family has given nearly 2.5 million pounds to the party since 2002.
Doreen Lawrence, rights campaigner and the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, leads five Labour nominations for peerages, which also include businessmen Sir William Haughey and Sir Charles Allen.
Sir William, the founder of City Refrigeration, has donated 1.3 million pounds to Labour.
The 30 nominees will take their seats when the House of Lords returns from its summer recess in September.

It will take the number of active members of the House of Lords, who are expected to attend Parliament regularly, up to 800.
One notable omission from the list is former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who has rejected a peerage to spend more time with his wife.
Critics have claimed the House of Lords has become too large and reformers have called for peers to be allowed to retire without losing their peerages.
More than 40 peers are currently on a "leave of absence" and are not attending Parliament due to illness or other commitments, while approximately 10 are disqualified because they are members of the judiciary or elected representatives elsewhere.

British government plans to elect the majority of peers by 2025 were abandoned last year in the face of opposition from many Tory MPs.