Revealed: Taxpayer foots £4,820 bill for doorkeepers’ new overcoats

With the government planning £30 billion of further cuts in a bid to clear the deficit, even Parliament has had to reduce its spending in recent years. However, while a lot of paperwork is now delivered electronically for this reason, there are some aspects of life in the Palace of Westminister where money is apparently no object.

Mr S can reveal that the Commons doorkeepers have been bought brand new overcoats worth approximately £300 each. The total bill racked up for the uniforms which were purchased at Crombie, the luxury men’s store, comes to £4,820.

In a response to Steerpike’s Freedom of Information request, the House of Commons authority explained why they issued these overcoats:

‘In February 2015, a section of Doorkeepers took over responsibility for some outside security duties and these staff were issued with a spring/autumn topcoat and a winter overcoat to support them in carrying out this role.’

However, given that overcoats were not part of the doorkeeper uniform until earlier this year, it seems bizarre that it was decided that now was the right time to go on a coat shopping spree.