The lord chancellor's has several roles

Lord Trefgarne objected to an annual salary of �96,000 for a job that essentially took 100 hours.

In the Upper House the lord chancellor has traditionally presided over sittings but the 1,400 year-old post is to be abolished.

Government reforms also include the creation of a Supreme Court which will replace the duties of Law Lords.

The idea of a Speaker, mirroring the set-up in the House of Commons, has apparently caused concern to Michael Martin, the incumbent in the Lower House.

The proposed �96,000 salary comes from a select committee that Lord Trefgarne and fellow Tory Lord Freeman had both sat on - although they opposed the scale of the remuneration.

Hard to justify?

Lord Trefgarne said: "The new duties which it is proposed should be assigned to the new Speaker are very modest, so modest that it is almost absurd."

Baroness Williams, leader of the Lib Dems in the Lords, said she believed it would be "extremely hard" to justify the proposed salary.

"Both Chambers are becoming more and more casual about public expenditure and about the use of taxpayer's money to give very large salaries to people whose work does not justify very large salaries," she told peers.

Leader of the Lords Baroness Amos said the government had made it clear that it wanted peers to set up a new speakership so Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer could focus on his job as constitutional affairs secretary.

"But speaking again as leader of the House, I strongly believe that a full time and independent speakership is right for the House, will be good for the House and the sooner the House enjoys that benefit the better."