An East End law student has become one of a small number of non-parliamentarians to have debated in the House of Lords.

Reducing carbon emissions was the theme of the discussion which former Morpeth school pupil Kawsar Zaman took part in earlier this month.

The 21-year-old, who is studying law at the London School of Economics, is part of the Commonwealth Youth Parliament and represented Bangladesh at the debate.

He said: “It was really quite surreal. To have not only sat there, but also had the opportunity to speak in the House of Lords - a place with so much history and significance dating back many centuries - was quite extraordinary.”

About 50 students attended the event on September 9 and it was only the fifth time that the Lords has been used for non-parliamentary business.

Kawsar was previously on the UpRising programme which aims to give young people from diverse backgrounds training to gear them towards becoming public leaders.

While he is keen to pursue a career in law, the ambitious student said the experience also inspired him to consider politics and he is already making headway in his party.

As a Labour party delegate, he is representing Tower Hamlets at the party conference in Liverpool later this month.