As further controversy unfolds in the Zimbabwe elections, peers have been told the Commonwealth does have a role in the 21st century.

The government was forced to defend the institution following the failure to expel Zimbabwe at the recent Commonwealth summit in Australia.

On Monday peers asked the government to give an appraisal of how the elections, which continue to be marked by allegations of vote rigging, had gone.

Foreign Office minister Baroness Amos was forced on the defensive after Lord Moynihan claimed the summit had tarnished the Commonwealth's reputation.

"The Commonwealth's inaction has caused long-term damage to its image," he claimed. "Does the government recognise that there is an urgent need for internal reform of the Commonwealth."

The minister said the government had recognised that the institution operated by consensus and that a range of options were open if the elections were judged to have been unfair.

"Good things came out of the meeting," she said referring to the summit. "The Commonwealth does have a role in the 21st Century. There was a very strong feeling of the importance of the Commonwealth."

The summit had made progress on environmental concerns and African development, she said.

Liberal Democrat leader Baroness Williams asked if ministers had any new information on the arrest of senior Zimbabwe opposition leaders and the continued closure of polling stations despite a court ruling to extend voting.

The minister told peers she did not have any more details but confirmed that no asylum seekers who had lost their appeals would be returned to Zimbabwe until after the election.