Toby Young, a writer and free speech advocate recently appointed to the House of Lords, has been blackballed from joining the Savile Club, a £2,000-a-year gentlemen's club in Mayfair. According to a source, older left-wing members, particularly lawyers, blocked his application, ostensibly due to his right-wing politics, despite substantial support from younger club members whose backing was evident in the candidates' book.

Young, 62, founded free schools outside local authority control and established both the Free Speech Union and the Daily Sceptic. The Savile Club, which has filmed scenes for Downton Abbey, previously voted against admitting women as members. Young declined to comment beyond noting his respect for the club's confidentiality rules, though he is expected to turn the episode to his advantage, as he has done previously in his career, including when dismissed from Vanity Fair magazine.