LORD CHANCELLOR Chris Grayling suffered another blow to his credibility yesterday after a committee of peers said the position should be held by a qualified lawyer.

The Lords constitution committee said that either the lord chancellor or his most senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice should be required to have legal qualifications.

Mr Grayling is the first non-lawyer in modern times to hold the post, which until 2005 combined the role of head of the judiciary with responsibilities as a cabinet minister and speaker of the House of Lords.

In a new report, the committee said that, while it was not “essential” for the lord chancellor to be a qualified lawyer, a legal or constitutional background would be “a distinct advantage.”