New peer Baroness Hayman has become a member of the House of Lords, attending the ceremony wearing fake fur robes.

Both of her supporters – peers who accompany a new member – did not wear robes as not enough synthetic ones were available.

Traditionally, peers wear robes made of ermine, but the House has some synthetic fur robes in stock for those who prefer not to wear real fur.

Baroness Hayman was the Labour MP for Workington between 2015 and 2019.

She was shadow environment secretary for two years under Jeremy Corbyn, but lost her seat to the Conservatives at the 2019 election.

She is a vegetarian and as an MP she frequently spoke about animal welfare in the Commons, including supporting tougher sentences for people who abuse animals.

In a tweet when she was nominated for a peerage, Baroness Hayman said she would be “a voice for the environment, animal welfare and for West Cumbria”.

• The week ahead in Parliament

During the introduction ceremony, Baroness Hayman took an oath to be “faithful and bear true allegiance” to the Queen.

She will sit as a Labour peer known as the Baroness Hayman of Ullock.

The House of Lords said synthetic robes have been available “as an option for a number of years” but it did not know how many peers have used them in their introductory ceremonies.

It said peers choosing the synthetic robes was “not unusual”.