New BME Peers: Baroness Oona King

A number of new Working Peers were added to the House of Lords today; among them are Oona King, Tariq Ahmad, Qurban Hussain, Raj Loomba and Sir Gulam Noon MBE.

The new appointments will take the number of minority ethnic Peers from 37 to 42.

Former Bethnal Green and Bow MP Oona King who made a bid for London Mayor earlier this year is now a Labour Peer.

Oona King currently Head of Diversity at Channel 4 Television was elected as an MP in 1997 but lost he seat in 2005. Since then she has maintained a high media profile as a journalist and presenter.

She will now be ranked as a Baroness but can choose how she will use her full title. King, currently away on a Channel 4 conference in Brussels was unavailable for comment.

Sir Gulam Noon MBE – Chairman and Founder of Noon Products and of the Noon Foundation is also a Labour Peer.

Sir Gulam founded Noon Products in Southall, London - retailing a number of Indian cuisine foods. The company was later taken over by Irish food conglomerate Kerry Group In 2006. Sir Gulam featured in the Sunday Times Rich List, in the same year estimated to have been worth £65 million at the time.

For the Conservatives Tariq Ahmad a businessman and former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and Vice Chairman for Cities will now sit in the Lords.

Tariq is a Merton Councillor and national vice-president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (AMA).

A spokesman for the AMA said: “Tariq is a great ambassador for the whole community and hopefully he will continue to serve all for the good of our entire community.”

Debbie Shears, leader of Merton’s Conservative opposition group, said: "I was extremely pleased to learn that Her Majesty The Queen has agreed to confer a life peerage on Tariq. He is a very well respected colleague and member of Merton Council and this honour is thoroughly deserved. I have no doubt he will work tirelessly in the House of Lords for the good of our country".

There are two new Liberal Democrat Peers, Councilman Qurban Hussain and businessman Raj Loomba.

Qurban Hussain, is Deputy Group  Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Luton Borough Council.

Hussain campaigned against the Iraq war and says he joined the Liberal Democrats on the day the Iraq war began in March 2003.

He was the deputy leader of the Luton Borough Council from 2005 to 2007; and stood as a Parliamentary Candidate for Luton South in 2005.

A businessman and campaigner for widows’ rights, he is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Rinku Group. He started the fashion and clothing company from a market stall in Widnes, Cheshire and built it up to a major player in the UK fashion and clothing industry.

The Loomba Trust a charitable organisation set up in 1997, and campaigns to improve the plight of widows and their children.

Today the Trust educates over 3,600 children throughout India.

Out-going members of the House of Lords Appointment Commission included Lib-dems Lord Dholakia OBE DL.

New appointees to the House of Lords full list:

OBV list of BME Peers: