Police drug sniffer dogs have been spotted outside the British Parliament days after traces of cocaine inside the building.
Political gossip site Guido Fawkes published a photo sent in by a reader on Tuesday, showing a Metropolitan Police dog section van parked with the rear door open outside Portcullis House, an office building for MPs across the road from the Palace of Westminster.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle contacted the police on Sunday after the Sunday Times broke the story.
“The Speaker has promised to call in the police amid growing evidence of cocaine and other illegal substances being used in parliament," a statement said.
"Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he would investigate Westminster’s drug culture after traces of cocaine were detected in a number of places accessible only to people with parliamentary passes.”
Traces of the drug were found near the private offices of Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Conservative MP Charles Walker, who chairs the Commons Administration Committee, told the newspaper that the issue of drug use among parliamentarians will be discussed in the House of Commons next week.
Policing Minister Kit Malthouse admitted on Monday that he would not be "surprised" if some people in parliament were using drugs.