Bracing scenes in Westminster yesterday. Scores of MPs were seen milling around in their pyjamas — some of them in even less. In these expenses-conscious times, as many as 60 of our elected representatives nowadays stay at the Park Plaza hotel at the far end of Westminster bridge from the House of Commons. So a high turnout of politicians was inevitable when the fire alarms went off in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Guests had to leave the building and as they did so there was a fair bit of ribbing about various people’s choice of nightwear. By general consent, the smartest nocturnal dressers were Tory Whip Ann Milton and Lib-Dem health minister Norman Lamb. They were both wearing old-fashioned dressing gowns — “real Rupert Bear jobs,” according to one source.
After several minutes of knee-knocking on the pavement, it was found to be a false alarm and the MPs were allowed back to bed. “Some of us are convinced it was a spot check by the parliamentary expenses body,” joked one MP.
