Sir Elton John has been warned against holding a meeting on gay rights with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The singer said he would attend a gay pride parade in Moscow during a hoax call with a man he believed to be President Putin.

Two Russian TV presenters admitted pranking the singer by posing as the country's president during a phone call about gay rights.

Sir Elton posted a picture of President Putin on his Instagram account on Tuesday night to thank the president for ''reaching out and speaking via telephone''.

But in the House of Lords peers including former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler warned Sir Elton against any such meeting.

Opening a debate on the rights of gay people across the world, Liberal Democrat Lord Scriven said: "I understand Elton John wants to have a meeting with President Putin. I have to say to Sir Elton John that he needs to be very careful or else he will be subject to their laws.

"If he sings some of his titles, perhaps All The Girls Love Alice he will be in conflict with their rules. Also if he says to President Putin Are You Ready For Love he could also find himself in trouble."

Lord Scriven said Russian laws promoted a culture where "people can actually persecute and violently abuse in the street lesbian and gay people who are standing up and being who they are".

He added: "We should be doing more to make sure Russia lifts those particular issues."

Tory peer Lord Fowler, a long-standing campaigner for gay rights, hit out at the treatment of homosexual men and women in Russia.

But he said: "I see Elton John has suggested a meeting with Mr Putin. I pay tribute to the work of both Elton John and David Furnish, but I'm not sure how far a meeting of that kind is going to take us in follow-up action."

He called instead for Sir Elton to start by meeting Prime Minister David Cameron to set up a London conference to help to start to fight and defeat discrimination.

Lord Fowler told peers about Russia: "The cover story is that the oppression is to protect children, which is both utterly unfair and utterly untrue.

"At the heart of Russia's legislation is prejudice. It is illegal to suggest that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual ones or to distribute information on gay rights.

"The new laws of Mr Putin are not a series of measures forced down the throats of an unwilling public.

"The new laws were passed with a majority of 436 to nil and opinion surveys show that three quarters of the Russian public believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by the public."

Lord Cashman, who as an EastEnders actor took part in the first gay kiss in a British soap opera, winding up the debate for Labour, said: "We really have an opportunity to bring about a progressive global consensus that can harness the power of business to work with governments, NGOs and other progressives to deliver real social progress."

Foreign Office minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns, replying to the debate, said: "It is clearly unacceptable that people continue to be discriminated against around the world and face violence simply because of who they love. It happens too often and in too many places."

She said the UK was supporting gay rights campaigners in Russia.