The corridors of powder: cocaine found in Houses of Parliament
Traces of cocaine have been found in the Houses of Parliament.
An investigation carried out by VICE found the Class A drug in four secure areas of the building.
One of the areas with the highest levels of residue was in the toilets outside of the Strangers Bar, which is accessible to parliamentary passholders and visitors.
VICE carried out tests in nine areas.
Rooms were swabbed with a testing kit consisting of pale pink wipes which turn blue if any trace of the drug is present.
Other locations which tested positive were the disabled toilets outside The Woolsack, one of several bars in the Palace of Westminster, as well as two other bathrooms outside of MP’s offices.
It is not the first time cocaine has been found in Westminster.
Back in 2013, an investigation by the Sun on Sunday found cocaine in various parts of the building.
Many of parliament's passholders, thought to be as high as 13,000, are not members of the House of Commons or Lords, so it is not clear who will be using the drug.
However, the latest revelation comes just weeks after revelations about drug use among high profile MPs.
In response, a spokesperson for Parliament said the takes the issue of substance misuse was taken very seriously.
“Parliament is a public place and we welcome over a million visitors a year who have access to the facilities,” said the spokesperson.
“Should drug use be identified in Parliament, appropriate action would be taken.”
Michael Gove, who unsuccessfully ran for prime minister in the current Conservative leadership elections, was forced to admit using cocaine on “several occasions”.
Frontrunners Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt also admitted drug use in their past, while another prominent Tory, Rory Stewart, said he had smoked opium at a wedding in Iran.