politics

Eight people arrested for cannabis possession in House of Commons and House of Lords

Published 10:33 13 Oct 2021 BST

Updated 10:33 13 Oct 2021 BST

Ava Evans

Eight people arrested for cannabis possession in House of Commons and House of Lords

Home politics

Get our Pub Quizzes and latest news straight to you by clicking here »

Met arrested thirteen people over the past 12 months for drug possession

Parliament might be the home of democracy, but it’s also apparently a crime hotspot. A freedom of information request submitted by The Sun found 202 crimes had been committed on the Westminster estate over the past year. Two drug dealers have been arrested over the past twelve months. A further eight people were arrested for possession of cannabis, and another five for unspecified drugs. The Sun's investigation revealed 17 drugs crimes in total. In other crime: stats from the Met recorded 36 assaults, with the vast majority against officers at the gates. There were also 25 thefts, not including seven cases of shoplifting, from the gift shops plus 52 threatening letters to MPs and Lords or their staffers.

A Parliament spokesperson said: “The safety and security of members, their staff and the Parliamentary community are an absolute priority. “We work closely with the police to ensure members and staff are safe and are able to perform their duties.”

Do our MPs take drugs?

In 2019, while running to be Tory leader, Michael Gove admitted he took cocaine "on several occasions". The Housing Secretary said he “deeply regrets” using the illicit substance two decades ago. Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted to taking cocaine at university. Speaking on Have I Got News for You in 2005, he said: "I think I was once given cocaine but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose". He later told GQ magazine in 2007: "I tried it at university and I remember it vividly. "And it achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever." Former Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, told The Times he might have once tried cannabis in his youth “when I was backpacking through India”. Matt Hancock, who has just been appointed UN special envoy to help Covid recovery in Africa has also flirted with Mary-Jane. A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”. None faced any repercussions.

Explore more on these topics:

Drugs

Politics

uk politics