
MPs' bar to reopen with enhanced security after spiking allegation
Parliament's Strangers' Bar will reopen later in February with enhanced security measures including CCTV following an allegation of drink spiking.
The bar, a regular haunt for MPs and parliamentary staff, has been closed since January 20 after the spiking allegation came to light.
A woman, reported to be a parliamentary researcher, is said to have told staff her drink had been tampered with on the evening of January 7.
Following a review of safety, the bar is set to reopen on February 24 after MPs agreed to a series of new measures to deter further incidents.
The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority for both Houses
House of Commons spokesman
A spokesman for the House of Commons said: 'The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority for both Houses.
'Following a review of arrangements in Strangers' Bar, the House of Commons Commission has endorsed a number of changes that aim to enhance existing safety measures and ensure the wellbeing of all customers who visit the bar.'
As well as installing CCTV, the bar will make covers for glasses available on request, increase the presence of security staff in the vicinity, and provide enhanced training to bar staff.
Information on 'drink safety' and links to schemes including 'Ask for Angela' will also be displayed in the bar.
It is telling ... that these changes are necessary, and indicative that the overall culture at Westminster still has to change
Mike Clancy, Prospect union
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union which represents some parliamentary staff, said the changes 'go some way to addressing concerns'.
He said: 'In particular, the introduction of CCTV is something Prospect has called for as an important security measure, and one which is present in virtually every other licensed premises in the country.
'It is telling, however, that these changes are necessary, and indicative that the overall culture at Westminster still has to change.'
The Metropolitan Police are continuing to investigate the alleged spiking, and a spokesman for the force said no arrests had been made so far.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


ITV News
3 hours ago
- ITV News
'South West not mentioned at all': MPs react to Chancellor's Spending Review
Lib Dem and Conservative MPs from the West Country have criticised the Chancellor's Spending Review for barely mentioning the South West beyond Swindon and Bristol. In her first multi-year spending review in the House of Commons, Rachel Reeves announced more cash for the NHS, defence and schools, with cuts to other departments like the Home Office and the Environment. Hartcliffe, in Bristol, was named as a future 'trailblazer neighbourhood' - an area that will be given up to £20 million over the next decade to regenerate - while Swindon was identified as an area ready to build more social and affordable homes, and Filton an area that will benefit from an uplift in defence spending. But beyond a few South West name-checks in Reeves' 45 minute speech, a number of MPs have expressed their frustration. Ben Maguire, North Cornwall's Lib Dem MP, said the duchy was left "completely abandoned", while Taunton and Wellington's Lib Dem, Gideon Amos, said he was "really disappointed" that the region wasn't directly given much more. "We [the South West] have huge concerns - particularly infrastructure," Mr Amos told ITV West Country. He said he'd continue pressing the Chancellor on the likelihood of securing the reopening of Wellington and Cullompton train stations, but suggested the uplift for transport projects was "encouraging", and is hopeful a decision will be made soon. Salisbury's Conservative MP, and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was left similarly deflated, with little clarity over the future of the UK Health Security Agency at Porton Down. "Money was invested to move much of Porton Down to Harlow - that cost estimate has now gone up sixfold to £3.2 billion and it is going to be 15 years late," Mr Glen said. "This is an opportunity to save some money - we could invest a modest amount in Porton." Recently, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting said "the worst decision [on Porton Down] is indecision." It's now his job to decide the future of the site, with the funding set out for the health service in the Spending Review. Labour MPs from the region were more positive, celebrating the rollout of free school meals and the government's U-turn on winter fuel payments. South Dorset's Labour MP, Lloyd Hatton, welcomed confirmation from the Chancellor of cash to help rebuild Budmouth School in Weymouth, Exeter's Labour MP Steve Race was pleased with £10 million from the government to help Exeter University with metamaterials research, and Camborne and Redruth's MP Perran Moon insists that he will fight for Cornwall's fair share of funding for new social homes. The West of England Combined Authority also welcomed Reeves' announcements, including the extension of the £3 cap on bus fares and the investment in developing mass transit plans for Bristol. "Leaders across the West have welcomed greater investment through today's Spending Review, with a record three-quarters of a billion pounds of transport funding confirmed for the West," a spokesperson said. "That means better buses, more trains, and mass transit – with trams and much more on the table. The Treasury has also today confirmed plans to improve rail links between Bristol and Cardiff." Business West said investment in the wider South West is needed, beyond the WECA region, for the government to see the economic growth it's depending on. Matt Griffith, Director of Policy, said: "We now have a general idea of the Government's intent, but we await further details on exactly what this means for our region. "We welcome the boost in affordable housing, transport, and infrastructure, which is much needed in our region. The overall message is stark though: the UK faces rising demands for public spending on health, welfare and defence. We need an economy, and strong business base, to bring in the revenue to pay for this. "The recent announcement of £752 million in transport investment for the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority shows that our region has been making progress in being visible to central government. However, the West of England, and wider South West, is still not able to access the full range of funding and powers that other regions have. We need access to these as soon as possible. This is not just in the interests of our region, but the wider UK economy too.' The futures of other transport projects, like the re-opening of the Portishead rail line, are also expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.


Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Reeves sets out spending review as Labour government ‘moves to new phase'
The Chancellor said total departmental budgets would grow by 2.3% a year in real terms and promised a 'record cash investment' in the NHS, amounting to an extra £29 billion a year. Setting out the spending review in the House of Commons, Ms Reeves said the tax hikes and looser borrowing rules allowed her to spend £190 billion more on the day-to-day running of public services and £113 billion on investment. Chancellor Rachel Reeves updated MPs on the results of the spending review (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) The review marks a watershed moment for the Government, almost a year after Labour's election landslide. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the Cabinet that the spending review 'marks the end of the first phase of this Government, as we move to a new phase that delivers on the promise of change for working people all around the country and invests in Britain's renewal'. In a sign of the difficulties which face Sir Keir and the Chancellor, migrants continued to cross the English Channel in small boats on Wednesday. Ms Reeves promised funding of up to £280 million more per year by the end of the spending review period in 2028/29 for the new Border Security Command and committed to end spending on hotels for asylum seekers by the next election. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel on Wednesday (Gareth Fuller/PA) In an attack on the Conservative legacy, she said: 'The party opposite left behind a broken system: billions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels, leaving people in limbo and shunting the cost of failure onto local communities. 'We won't let that stand.' She said 'we will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers, in this Parliament' with funding to cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return those with no right to be in the UK. The plan would save taxpayers' £1 billion a year, Ms Reeves said. The Chancellor said her 'driving purpose' was 'to make working people, in all parts of our country, better off' as she promised cash to rebuild schools and hospitals, confirmed funding for nuclear power schemes and major transport projects across the country. She said the Government would set out plans for 'Northern Powerhouse Rail' in the coming weeks and an additional £3.5 billion to upgrade the TransPennine route. 'We are renewing Britain,' she said. 'But I know that too many people in too many parts of our country are yet to feel it.' As well as changing Treasury rules to support investment in England's regions, Ms Reeves said the spending review period would provide £52 billion for Scotland, £20 billion for Northern Ireland and £23 billion for Wales. She said research and development funding would rise to more than £22 billion a year and promised £2 billion for the artificial intelligence action plan 'because home-grown AI has the potential to solve diverse and daunting challenges as well as the opportunity for good jobs and investment in Britain'. The Chancellor promised a cash increase of £4.5 billion a year for the core schools budget by the end of the spending review period, but also pledged up to £2.3 billion a year to repair 'crumbling classrooms' and £2.4 billion for a programme to rebuild schools. Police 'spending power' – implying extra cash raised from council tax – will rise by 2.3% a year in real terms over the review period, providing more than £2 billion for forces. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: 'Workers and communities need to see action now, promises of jobs can't always be promised for tomorrow and never actually be delivered. 'This must include a comprehensive and tangible jobs agenda that deals with the wave of job losses on the horizon, for example in the oil and gas industry. 'We need a joined up industrial strategy that sees investment in Grangemouth and much-needed procurement decisions on buying British in defence. 'Growth and profits need to convert to jobs and wages. 'Today was a missed opportunity to lay out the funding to tackle key issues, including the energy costs crippling British industry and the local authority debt which is straight-jacketing services in our communities. 'Spending cuts will be seen as austerity, those are the facts. Labour needs to pick up the pace on change otherwise it will be stuck in the political slow lane while other voices get louder.'


ITV News
4 hours ago
- ITV News
Spending review: Extra cash for NHS, defence, schools and a promise to end asylum hotels by 2029
The chancellor has outlined her spending plans for the next three years, as ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her first multi-year spending review in the House of Commons, with more cash revealed for the NHS, defence and schools, while other areas are squeezed. She has laid out the government's spending plans for the next three years - showing us what the government's priorities are and shaping the direction of travel until 2029. The chancellor told MPs: "We are renewing Britain. But I know that too many people in too many parts of our country are yet to feel it. "This government's task, my task as chancellor, and the purpose of this spending review, is to change that." Reeves stressed the decisions made in the spending review are her decisions about the direction of government, concluding her speech by saying: "These are my choices, these are Labour's choices, these are the choices of the British people.' Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said "the chancellor has completely lost control", saying Reeves "will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes, and a cruel summer of speculation awaits." What is the spending review and who are the biggest losers? Alongside setting out her plans for departmental spending, the chancellor has also outlined £113 billion of investment in infrastructure and other capital projects over the next four years. Because of the chancellor's 'iron-clad' fiscal rules, she's got a limited amount of cash to play with for day-to-day spending, and expected spending increases on health and defence mean it's likely budgets in other areas will be squeezed. But last year Reeves also changed the rules to allow her to borrow more money for investment in infrastructure - that's why we've seen increased spending on big projects but some departmental budgets reduced. Among the eight departments facing real-terms cuts over the next three years are the Home Office (down 1.7% a year), Foreign Office (down 6.9% a year), Transport (down 5% a year), Environment and Rural Affairs (down 2.7%), and Business and Trade (down 1.8% a year). When pressed by ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen on the cuts, Reeves accepted "there are things that we're not able to do, there are areas where there will be reductions in spending." Defence Rachel Reeves began her speech by talking about defence spending - which is one of the areas getting the biggest increase. "We will make Britain a defence industrial superpower," she told MPs. Reeves said the UK will spend 2.6% of GDP on defence by 2027, which includes spending on intelligence. But the government also has a goal of hitting 3% of GDP on defence by the end of the next parliament, and it's expected Nato countries will agree later this month to increasing defence spending further to 3.5%. Home Office The Home Office is one of the departments being particularly squeezed. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last cabinet minister to agree to spending plans with the Treasury, after reports of a fierce row. Reeves revealed police spending would increase by 2.3% a year in real terms, which equates to £2 billion. Cooper had pressed for extra funding for police, after police bosses warned they wouldn't be able to meet the government's anti-crime pledges without extra cash. Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens said: 'It is clear that this is an incredibly challenging outcome for policing. 'In real terms, today's increase in funding will cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases for officers and staff. 'Whilst we await further detail on allocation to individual forces, the amount falls far short of what is required to fund the government's ambitions and maintain our existing workforce. Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire, Rupert Matthews, told ITV News: "If I'm going to match the promises made by national government, I'm going to have to stop doing something else locally. That's not how I think we should be running police services." Despite that, Reeves told ITV News she's "confident we can deliver on the plans we set out in our manifesto." Reeves also revealed funding of up to £280 million more per year for the government's Border Security Command to help them tackle the small boats crisis. She also pledged the government will end the "costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament." Housing Deputy PM and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner was also in a battle with the Treasury over funding, with negotiations going down to the wire before the budget was settled. Rayner secured £39 billion for affordable housing to be spent over ten years, as the government seeks to hit its pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the next election. "I am proud to announce the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in 50 years," Reeves told MPs. Health The NHS is the biggest winner in the spending review, with health getting a boost of £30 billion and day-to-day spending rising by 3% a year. That represents 60% of the total allocated spending envelope, according to the IFS. 'If we want a strong economy, where working people can fulfil their potential, then we must have a strong NHS,' Reeves said. Reacting to the settlement, NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey said the NHS has done 'really well'. 'It's a huge amount – (the) government has done us a really good turn compared to other parts of the public service. 'But it's not going to allow us all to just take our feet off the pedal and just run loose and do what we want to do in this next period, we have still got an awful lot of difficult things to do," he said. Investment Most of the announcements on projects funded by the £113 billion for infrastructure had already been announced before the spending review. Last week the chancellor revealed £15.6 billion for mayoral authorities, including funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire. On Tuesday Reeves also announced £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, which will mainly go towards funding the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk. The chancellor also announced an extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 and an extra £445 million for upgrading Welsh railways But London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is "disappointed" with the money for projects in the capital. "The way to level up other regions will never be to level down London", he said in a statement. Winter fuel Reeves revealed this week the extent of the government's u-turn over winter fuel payments - with 7.5 million pensioners set to have the payments restored. After a fierce backlash from voters and backbenchers, the government announced pensioners with an annual income of £35,000 or less will have their winter fuel payments restored this year. The u-turn will cost the government £1.25 billion - with many warning the move could lead to fresh tax hikes in the autumn. Addressing the eligibility change in her speech, Reeves also confirmed £13.2 billion promised in the manifesto to make homes energy efficient. She said the plan would save families and pensioners "up to £600 off their bills." Education The chancellor spoke at length about education during her speech, as she announced day-to-day funding for schools will increase by £4.5 billion a year. 'I joined the Labour Party almost thirty years ago because I knew that the Conservative government when I grew up didn't care very much about schools like mine, or the kids I grew up with,' she told MPs. Reeves confirmed cash to give half a million more children access to free school meals - the government set out last week that they would expand the provision of free school meals to all children whose families claim universal credit. The chancellor also said there would be investment rising to nearly £2.3 billion per year to 'fix our crumbling classrooms'. She announced £370m for schools-based nurseries and £555m for children's social care. The total funding increase for schools will also partially cover the £615 million pot allocated to schools to give teachers a 4% pay rise. Schools are expected to fund a quarter of the pay rise through "improved productivity". Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "The schools settlement in England is tight. Strip out the cost of expanding free schools meals, and you get a real-terms freeze in the budget. "With falling pupil numbers, this would in principle allow a rise in spending per pupil. Instead, the government may have to freeze spending per pupil in order to meet rising demand for special education needs provision." Environment Day-to-day spending in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been cut in real terms by 2.7% a year. One of the main areas being hit is schemes to promote sustainable farming - with subsidies for nature-friendly farming practices only made available to small farms. Justice The Ministry of Justice will se an average real-terms increase in day-to-day spending of 1.8% a year.