Sir Lindsay Hoyle to raise allegations of widespread parliament cocaine use to the Met
House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will raise allegations of extensive cocaine use in parliament to the Metropolitan Police this week.
Hoyle today said the allegations were “deeply concerning” and that people who “flout the law” should be duly punished.
The Sunday Times reported today that cocaine use was rampant across parliament, with testing showing that traces of the drug was found in 11 of 12 lavatories investigated.
This included toilets next to Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office and in the disabled bathroom near the shadow cabinet offices in the Norman Shaw North building.
Speaking to the BBC today, Hoyle said: “The accounts of drug misuse in parliament given to the Sunday Times are deeply concerning, and I will be raising them as a priority with the Metropolitan Police next week. I expect to see full and effective enforcement of the law.
“While parliament provides extensive support services for any staff or members who may need help with drug misuse – and I would encourage anyone struggling with such issues to take up such help – for those who choose to flout the law and bring the institution into disrepute the sanctions are serious.”
Scores of MPs, peers and parliamentary staff told The Times about very open drug use throughout Westminster, with one saying: “I have seen an MP openly snorting cocaine at a party.”
Another added: “MPs tend to be more careful than staff and will go back to their office to do it rather than doing it in any of the public spaces, but I have heard of one staffer who walked in on their MP doing a late-night line at their desk.”