Mandrake hears that they have just given approval for a Pugin-style smoking shelter to be built at the palace during their absence – at cost of £21,706.
It is part of a £3 million facelift that will be given to their "office" during the summer recess when the bars and eateries in the building will also be spruced up. While MPs such as Kenneth Clarke are likely to appreciate the shelter, it is not strictly necessary as the building is a royal palace and is therefore not covered by the smoking ban.
Frank Doran, the Labour chairman of the administration committee, says he had hoped that it would be possible to build the shelter between Portcullis House and Norman Shaw North as economically as possible.
"We started off thinking we could do something cheap and cheerful, but the process had to go through Westminster City Council and English Heritage, which made it more expensive than one would expect. We have a duty to our employees and our staff and we thought it was appropriate to provide them with somewhere they can smoke. All the smoking areas outside Parliament are very exposed and we felt it was a health and safety issue, especially in winter."
Waste of our money at any time but especially during a recession.
Health and safety issue? My arse.
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