Police dogs in the British Parliament to track drug users

Lindsey Hoyle with a sniffer in Parliament House.

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Police dogs can now roam the corridors of the British Parliament, as part of anti-drug plans approved by the House of Commons.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives promised to call the police, amid mounting evidence of cocaine and other illegal "harmful substances" in Parliament.

Sir Lindsey Hoyle said he would investigate a "drug culture" in Westminster after traces of cocaine were discovered in a number of places accessible only to people with Parliamentary licences.

Separately, Conservative MP Charles Walker, who chairs the management committee, said the issue would be discussed in the House of Commons committee next week.

He said: “The House of Commons has a long history of using sniffer dogs to detect explosives,” adding, “We may need, now, to expand the scope of sniffer dogs;

So that you can find drugs.”

Last month, House of Commons officials received reports of the potential for cannabis use.

This came after it was revealed that two drug dealers were arrested and 13 people were detained for drug possession in or around Parliament House within a year.

Various sources confirmed the occasional cocaine use by a group of MPs, and tissues found evidence of the Class A drug in 11 out of the 12 locations tested in the building, including places that could only be accessed by those with Parliamentary permits. .

Evidence of cocaine was found in toilets near the offices of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Home Secretary.

The drug was also discovered in the disabled bathroom in the corridor of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and in the toilet of the office of Nick Thomas Symonds, who served as the former Shadow Home Secretary.

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