Royal rumpus as hacks lose office access

Preparations for Her Majesty’s Lying-in-State in Westminster Hall are continuing and all is not well in the Houses of Parliament. After yesterday’s news that MPs’ staff are unhappy at their exclusion from those given priority access to pay their last respects, now Mr S can tell his readers that at least two other fresh rows are brewing.

The first is about whether former Members of Parliament who are not sitting members of the House of Lords will be allowed priority access to avoid predicted queues of up to 30 hours to file past the coffin. Unfortunately, the special phone number which former Members have been given to arrange such visits to Westminster Hall is not working, according to one ex-MP who phoned Mr S to convey his disappointment.

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The second row concerns the rights of HM lobby, those fearless seekers of truth. Journalists who work in the Palace of Westminster are aggrieved that security preparations mean that from tomorrow night they will be unceremoniously barred from their offices – better known as ‘Burma Road’ – for a week.

Instead, they will be offered alternative spaces on the upper committee corridor and the coffee-stained tables of Portcullis House. One disgruntled hack sniffed to Steerpike that ‘it seems to be because it’s being handled from the Lords who are used to somewhat less media attention’ and warned of an imminent desk shortage.

Hacks also won’t be given priority access to cover the Lying-in-State, prompting some to fear they will be unable to give the historic occasion its due. Fortunately, a compromise is already in the works, with reporters able to cover the ceremony from a certain point within Westminster Hall.

Let’s hope that those who do get in will give Her Majesty the send-off she deserves.