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The British Parliament is calling for police to investigate reports of cocaine use in various parliamentary sites, the Associated Press reported.
The Sunday Times reported that drug detection wipes found traces of cocaine in 11 out of the 12 restrooms tested. The white wipes turn blue when cocaine is present.
The restrooms were accessible only to those with parliamentary passes, such as lawmakers, staff and journalists. One of the locations included a restroom near Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office.
AP reported that House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle decided to contact police after hearing about The Sunday Times report.
Several members of parliament told the British newspaper there is a "culture of cocaine" in the government, citing specific events in which they saw casual cocaine use by fellow lawmakers, especially younger ones. Examples range from seeing a member of parliament discreetly snorting cocaine at their desk to openly doing it at a party where journalists were present.
According to The Sunday Times report, parliament has 19,000 pass-holders who can enter Westminster without security checks. However, only about 3,000 have been regularly attending since COVID-19 lockdowns began.
It seems Hoyle has been aware of the drug issue. When running for speaker in 2019, he said, "It's not just drink we've got to catch out, there is a drug problem."
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
"The accounts of drug misuse in Parliament given to the Sunday Times are deeply concerning—and I will be raising them as a priority with the Metropolitan Police this week," Hoyle said in a statement. "I expect to see full and effective enforcement of the law."
Johnson's spokesman, Max Blain, said Monday that the reports "are concerning."
The allegations emerged just as the government announced a new strategy to combat drug abuse and drug-related crime. The plans published Monday call for more resources to rehabilitate addicts, alongside a police clampdown on drug dealers and traffickers.
The government also plans to target recreational drug users to suppress demand for narcotics, including by contacting clients found in drug dealers' seized phones "with a range of messages to discourage their drug use."
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said reports of drug use in Parliament weren't surprising.
"There are obviously several thousand people who work on the estate and I would be surprised if there weren't some lifestyle users of drugs amongst them," he told Sky News.
