Lastminute.com's Martha Lane Fox joins House of Lords and becomes Baroness of Soho

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Digital pioneer Martha Lane Fox became the youngest female member of the House of Lords today.

The 40-year-old Lastminute.com founder takes the title Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho - with the surname hyphenated to meet Lords rules. She took she took her oath of allegiance to the Queen in a ceremony this afternoon.

Baroness Lane-Fox co-founded Lastminute.com in 1998 and became a millionaire in the 2000 initial sale of shares to the public.

In 2009 she was appointed the UK Government’s digital champion, tasked with delivering more public services online and encouraging as many people as possible to use the web. She will sit in the Lords as an independent, crossbench peer.