17 January 2025 , 15:22
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Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar will close on Monday after an alleged spiking incident, a House of Commons spokesperson said.
The alleged incident took place in early January, when a parliamentary researcher alerted police and bar staff after her drink was thought to have been tampered with.
A House of Commons spokesperson said: ‘Strangers’ Bar will close from Monday 20 January while security and safety arrangements are reviewed. The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority of both Houses.’
A spokesperson for the prime minister previously said the reports were ‘incredibly concerning’.
He added: ‘Women have a right to feel safe everywhere… everyone on the parliamentary estate should feel safe in their workplace.’
Strangers bar is a regular hangout spot for MPs and their staff (Picture: REX)
Strangers bar, located on the Westminster estate near the House of Commons, is a private pub open to MPs, their staff and other parliamentary workers.
It has been the source of several political scandals in recent years which has provoked outrage over inappropriate behavior from MPs.
Last year, former Conservative MP Aaron Bell was formally reprimanded by a parliamentary panel after he ‘touched’ a woman ‘inappropriately and without her consent’ in the bar.
In 2023, Labour MP Neil Coyle was also suspended from Parliament for five days after he made racist remarks towards a journalist of Chinese-British origin while drinking in Strangers.
A group of Labour MPs recently called for access to alcohol in Parliament to be curbed among a group of recommendations to the Modernisation Committee, with the aim of tackling the Westminster drinking culture.