SERJEANT FOR THEInsert Front Cover COMMONS Image House of CommonsSERJEANT LibraryNo. 25 Document (CommemorativeFOR THE COMMONS Edition)

HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY DOCUMENT NO.25 (COMMEMORATIVE EDITION) 3

SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS COMMEMORATIVE EDITION 600th Anniversary 2015 is a particularly special year of anniversaries at Parliament. In addition to the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, it marks 600 years since Henry V appointed one of his Royal Serjeants, Nicholas Maudit, to attend upon the Commons specifically. The Serjeant, much as he was six centuries ago, remains a central figure in the House of Commons. In July 2015, Serjeants at Arms and Ushers of the from across the Commonwealth and USA will meet in Westminster for a Professional Development Conference. This quinquennial event provides an opportunity for delegates to reflect and to celebrate the long history of the role, to assess current challenges, and to look forward as to how it may continue to evolve over coming centuries. This commemorative book aims to create a wider awareness of the office and highlights some of the key events (and characters) that have helped to shape it. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

House of Commons Library Documents The Commons Library has produced a series of documents on a range of historical subjects relating to the work, membership, offices and other aspects of the House of Commons. The series was edited initially by David Menhennet and, subsequently, by Chris Pond and then Oonagh Gay.

Access to the collection

The Library documents series are available as a collection in hard copy from the main Library (published by HMSO to 1997 and by the Stationery Office Limited from 1997).

General Editors: David Menhennet (to 1990) Chris Pond (1990 to 2007) Oonagh Gay (2008 – present) 5

House of Commons Library Documents Number Title

1 Acts of Parliament: Some Distinctions in Their Nature and Numbering 1955 2 A Bibliography of Parliamentary Debates of Great Britain 1967 3 The in the House of Commons 1971 4 Official Dress Worn in the House of Commons 1960 5 Access to Subordinate Legislation 1963 6 Ceremonial in the House of Commons 1967 7 The Journal of the House of Commons: a bibliographical and historical guide 1971 8 Votes and Standing Orders of the House of Commons: The Beginning 1971 9 Erskine May’s Private Journal 1857-1882: Diary of a Great Parliamentarian 1972 10 William Lambarde’s Notes of the Procedures and Privileges of the House of Commons 1977 11 Ceremonial and the Mace in the House of Commons 1980 12 Erskine May’s Private Journal 1883-1886 1984 13 Serjeant for the Commons 1986 (4th edition 2009) 14 Secretaries to Mr 1986 15 English Constituency Histories 1265-1832 1986 16 Debates and Proceedings of the British Parliaments: a guide to printed sources 1986 17 Observations, rules and orders of the House of Commons: an early procedural collection 1989 18 The Royal Mace in the House of Commons 1990 19 Chaplain to Mr Speaker: religious life of the House of Commons 1991 20 In Parliament 1939-1950 1991 21 The House of Commons Library: a history 1991 (2nd edition 2000) 22 Secretary to the Speaker: Ralph Verney’s papers 1999 23 The Early History of the House of Commons Library 2001 24 Members of Parliament 1979-2010 2011 25 Serjeant for the Commons (Commemorative Edition) 2015

SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

House of Commons Library Document No 25 (Commemorative Edition) Editor: Oonagh Gay

Serjeant for the Commons Revised by Lawrence Ward Serjeant at Arms Oonagh Gay House of Commons Library

Acknowledgements Most of the images reproduced here are available in the Curator’s Office, Parliamentary Archives or the House of Commons Library. Efforts were made to track copyright of other images and obtain permission, but in some cases without success. With grateful thanks to Lisa Wrobel, Antonia Garraway, Portia Dadley, Mari Takayanagi

7

Contents

600th Anniversary 3

House of Commons Library Documents 4

Illustrations 9

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II 10

Foreword by Speaker 11

Chapter One - Introduction 16

Chapter Two - Development of the Disciplinary Powers of the House of Commons 24

Chapter Three - World Wars and Parliament 36

Chapter Four - Serjeants and disruption in the twentieth century and beyond 40

Chapter Five - The differing responsibilities of the Serjeant at Arms 47

Chapter Six - The wider Commonwealth family 56

Appendix 58 2. Speaker Henry Brand, the Speaker’s Procession in 1884 by Francis SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS Wilfred Lawson (enlarged image to focus on the Serjeant at Arms carrying the Mace). 9

Illustrations

1. Front cover image: Serjeant at Arms – 20. This Fell Serjeant – strict in his arrest, cartoon 33. Destroyed House of Commons Chamber. (Serjeant at Arms office photograph). of Lord Charles Russell by Coide in Vanity Fair Photographs of the Palace of Westminster: war- 2. Speaker Henry Brand, the Speaker’s Procession 12 April 1873 [Ref: WoA 3026], © Palace of time damage and post-war reconstruction, 1910- in 1884 by Francis Wilfred Lawson (enlarged Westminster Collection. 1984, [Parliamentary Archives Ref: OOW/12, image to focus on the Serjeant at Arms carrying 21. The arrest of Mr Bradlaugh in the House of OOW/12/9/001]. the Mace) [WoA 2955], © Palace of Westminster Commons, print of original by F. Daddy 1880 34. A posed portrait of officers of the House on Collection. [Ref: WoA 3392], © Palace of special occasions connected with the Palace. 3. The Serjeant at Arms Office (inside), Karen Neale Westminster Collection. Speaker’s Procession on VE Day, 8 May 1945, (website: www.karenneale.co.uk), Westminster 22. Speaker Henry Brand, the Speaker’s Procession [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/SJ/7/2/ and Other World Heritage Sites – December in 1884 by Francis Wilfred Lawson (original number 36]. 2004 [Ref: WoA 6385]. © 2015 Karen Neale. image) [WoA 2955], © Palace of 35. Mary Frampton serving a warrant on Arthur 4. The Serjeant at Arms Office (outside), Karen Westminster Collection. Scargill, President of the National Union of Neale (website: www.karenneale.co.uk), 23. The Terrace by Milly Childers 1909. Sir David Mineworkers November 1982 [Parliamentary Westminster and Other World Heritage Sites – Erskine (Serjeant 1885-1915 on the Terrace [Ref: Archives Ref: PIC/P/758]. December 2004 [Ref: WoA 6384]. WoA 3439]. © Palace of Westminster Collection. 36. Security breach events in Parliament – Hunting © 2015 Karen Neale. 24. Sketch, “The House of Commons all Sixes and ban debates, 12 September 2004, © UK 5. Nicholas Maudit – The memorial brass to Sevens” for ‘Punch’. March 1890. [Parliamentary Parliament Copyright, Parliamentary Recording Nicholas Maudit in Wandsworth Parish Church Archives Ref: HC/LB/1/112/275]. Unit (PRU). [reference unknown]. 25. Sketch, “Neutral Ground: the Serjeant- 37. Campaign group “Plane Stupid” on the roof of 6. Jill Pay, Serjeant at Arms 2008–12 (Serjeant at at-arms “At Home”” for ‘Punch’. 13 June the Palace of Westminster, 23 February 2008 Arms office photograph). 1885. [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/ (two images), © Creative Commons Copyright. 7. The 40th Serjeant, Lawrence Ward, State LB/1/112/321]. 38. Lawrence Ward, Serjeant at Arms, © UK Opening of Parliament 2013 (Serjeant at 26. The defeat of obstruction in the House Parliament Copyright, Jessica Taylor. Arms office photograph). of Commons: Removal of Mr Parnell by 39. Lieutenant General CMG CBE 8. State Opening of Parliament 2015, © UK Order of the Speaker – 1881, artist unknown MA, Black Rod (Black Rods office photograph). Parliament Copyright, Jessica Taylor. [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/ 40. Doorkeepers (Serjeant at Arms SJ/7/2/4.001]. 9. Lawrence Ward, State Opening of Parliament office photograph). 2015, © UK Parliament Copyright, Jessica Taylor. 27. Newspaper report from The Daily Mirror. 41. Westminster Hall on Fire 1834 by George A suffragette’s “graffiti” on a wall in St 10. Victor Akinbile, Associate Serjeant at Arms B. Campion, 1834 [WoA 1669]. © Palace of Stephen’s entrance causes “outrage”, 1906-1927, Westminster Collection. (Serjeant at Arms office photograph). [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/SJ/10/12 11. Mr Speaker’s procession – The Speaker of the 21.3]. 42. Filming Suffragette in the Central Lobby of House of the Commons processes to Central the Houses of Parliament, 8 April 2014. © UK 28. Picture from the illustrated London News held Parliament Copyright, Jessica Taylor. Lobby, © UK Parliament Copyright, by the Commons Library of a Suffragette being Catherine Bebbington. removed by Doorkeepers from the Ladies Gallery 43. Queen Mary’s Lying in State 1953, 12. Original designs for the female version of of the Commons having chained herself to the [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/SJ/7/3 the Serjeant’s uniform produced by Ede & window grill. number 8]. Ravenscroft, © Copyright 2015 Ede 29. Official internal memo from Serjeant at Arms to 44. Lying in State of King George VI in Westminster & Ravenscroft. ban the admittance of (Estelle) Sylvia Pankhurst Hall, 1952. [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/ 13. Photograph of a sketch of Colonel Henry (and her associate) – daughter to Emmeline SA/SJ/7/3 number 55]. Seymour’s uniform, Colonel Henry Seymour Pankhurst the British political activist and leader 45. State Visit Barack Obama, President of the (Serjeant at Arms, 1812-1835) [Parliamentary of the British suffragette movement. 16 April United States, and Lawrence Ward, Serjeant Archives Ref: HC/SA/SJ/7/2/2]. 1919. [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/ at Arms, May 2011, (Serjeant at Arms office SJ/10/12 64.4]. 14. Uniforms and trimmings, volumes of sketches of photograph). uniforms with descriptions and amendments to 30. “What is Justice” campaign leaflet for the 46. Canadian Association of Sergeant at Arms the pictures, 1948; 1955, [Parliamentary Archives Suffragists’ Vigilance League, 1906-1927. meeting, Halifax NS, August 2013 (Serjeant at Ref: HC/SA/SJ/3/3] (two images). [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/SA/SJ/10/12 Arms office photograph). 25.4]. 15. A true platforme and manner of the sittinge 47. Visit of Aung San Suu Kyi in June 2012: in the lower House of Parliament, image of 31. H D Erskine, Esq Serjeant at Arms, House of Aung San Suu Kyi enters Westminster Hall the House of Commons Chamber in 1623 – Commons, 1906, [Parliamentary Archives Ref: accompanied by Mr. Speaker and the Lord artist unknown [Ref: WoA 349]. © Palace of HC/LB/1/111/20/56]. Speaker, 21 June 2012. © UK Parliament Westminster Collection. 32. Home Guard – Parliamentary Home Guard Copyright, Roger Harris. 16. A group portrait Sergeant at Arms Bonfoy, his unit (The Palace of Westminster Company), 48. The Serjeant, Deputy Serjeant and Associate son, and John Clementson by J. Mortimer [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/CL/CH/3/10]. Serjeants at Arms, March 2015 (Serjeant at Arms c1770 [Ref: WoA 6397]. © Palace of a. An inspection of the Parliamentary Home office photograph). Westminster Collection. Guard by the Lord , Lord Simon. Image shows both men and women volunteers. 49. Back cover image: The Serjeant, Deputy Serjeant 17. Edward Colman, Serjeant at Arms 1775-1805 by Early 1940s. [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/ and Associate Serjeants at Arms, May 2015 Karl Anton Hickel [Ref: WoA 0661], © Palace CL/CH/3/10 123 – b]. (Serjeant at Arms office photograph). of Westminster Collection. b. Winston Churchill inspecting the 18. John Bull the Judge or The Conspirators at the Parliamentary Home Guard, 1942. Bar!! By J Fairburn 1820 [Ref: WoA 467], © [Parliamentary Archives Ref: HC/CL/CH/3/10 Palace of Westminster Collection. 123 – c]. 19. At the Bar of the House: A recent incident in the c. Volunteers of the Parliamentary Home Guard House of Commons by H Johnson 1872 [Ref: potato peeling. Early 1940s. [Parliamentary WoA 3671], © Palace of Westminster Collection. Archives Ref: HC/CL/CH/3/10 123 – d].

Most of the images reproduced here are available in the Palace of Westminster Curator’s Office, the Parliamentary Archives or the House of Commons Library. Every effort has been made to trace and obtain the copyright permissions for other images, but in some cases without success. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

11

Foreword by Speaker

This booklet is designed to show the history, development and current functions of the Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons to mark the Commonwealth Serjeant at Arms Professional Development Conference 2015. 2015 marks the 600th anniversary of the creation of the office, and the dedication and skill of the office-bearers since then have not been in doubt. The Serjeants perform a valuable function in protecting Members and staff and providing access to the many visitors to the parliamentary estate. Issues of security and access are relevant across the Commonwealth and it is hoped that this history and guide will be of interest for some years to come.

SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

3. The Serjeant at Arms Office (inside), Karen Neale (website: www.karenneale.co.uk), Westminster and Other World Heritage Sites – December 2004. 13 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS 15

4. The Serjeant at Arms Office (outside), Karen Neale (website: www.karenneale.co.uk), Westminster and Other World Heritage Sites – December 2004. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Chapter One

Introduction The Serjeant at Arms, along with the Speaker and the arrest without a warrant became a fundamental step in the Clerk, is one of the most prominent officers of the House development of the penal jurisdiction of the Commons. of Commons. The Serjeant, the Deputy Serjeant or an 5. Memorial brass to Nicholas Maudit, Assistant Serjeant is always present in the Chamber when All Saints Parish Church Wandsworth the House is sitting; attired in black court dress and armed with a sword and responsible for security in and around the Chamber. At the start of each day’s sitting the Serjeant carries the ahead of the Speaker in a procession from Speaker’s House to the Chamber. The appointment of a Serjeant for the Commons can be traced back six centuries, with its roots in the mounted bodyguard of the early Plantagenet kings, in which role the Serjeants at Arms first became prominent.

Origins of the role of Serjeant- Nicholas Maudit Serjeants at Arms originally served the monarch. The first use of the term appears around 1200 when King Philip Augustus of France created an 80 strong bodyguard to protect him from attack in the Holy Land. Edward I formed a bodyguard of 20 Serjeant at Arms in 1279 to provide a garrison and to escort prisoners or traitors being brought to London. Between 1386 and 1397 the Rolls of Parliament show that there were protests to Richard II about the arbitrary behaviour of his Serjeants at Arms, about their crimes of extortion and oppression, and about the King’s failure to control them. In 1415 one of their number was appointed to “attend upon all the Parliaments as Serjeant at Arms for the Commons coming thereto.” This followed a successful The Calendar of Close Rolls for the reign of Henry petition from the Commons in that year for the V shows that in April 1415 ‘at the special petition appointment of Nicholas Maudit. of the Commons… the King granted that the said By the beginning of the fifteenth century the Commons Nicholas Maudit should during his life attend had already acquired a Speaker and a Clerk; and their upon all his Parliaments… as Serjeant at Arms decision to petition for the appointment of a Serjeant may for the Commons coming thereto’1 This Calendar well have arisen from the need they felt for an official to was a record of private state correspondence. look after the non-procedural aspects of their existence. Similar wording appeared in the Calendar of Medieval institutions such as abbeys, whose raison d’être was not a warlike one, appointed a lay official called an Patent Rolls (letters sealed with the sovereign’s ‘advocatus’ who was responsible for their protection and Great Seal) of the previous year: ‘Grant at the the administration of their lands. In choosing Nicholas supplication of the Commonalty of the realm in Maudit, the Commons may have decided that he the present Parliament that the Kings Esquire, possessed the qualities needed to carry out the functions Nicholas Maudit, one of the King’s Serjeants at of an advocatus – its defender and agent in secular affairs – Arms shall be intendent at all Parliaments for the which were relevant to their developing needs. Commonalty coming to the Parliaments.2 This was a part time role, since it did not preclude Maudit from being used by the king for other tasks such as seizing ships and arresting subjects to bring before the monarch. There is very little detail available about the early duties of the Serjeant in respect of the Commons until the Ferrers 1 Calendar of Close Rolls Henry V 1439-1419 p207 case of 1545, when the use of a royal Serjeant’s power of 2 Calendar of the Patent Rolls Henry V 1413-16 p196 17

Appointment of Serjeant Until the reign of Henry VIII it appears to have been The current Serjeant at Arms, Lawrence Ward, was a custom of the Commons to petition the sovereign to appointed in May 2012.4 Ward was appointed Assistant appoint a Serjeant of their own choosing. However, the Serjeant at Arms in 2008. He had previously developed records are patchy. In 1467 there is a reference in the Rolls the pan-government mail screening facility and been of Parliament to the appointment of John Bury “one of Parliament’s Postmaster with responsibility for mail the King’s Serjeaunts of Arms chosen by the Commons of and Post Office Counter services for Parliament, the England to be intendent to the same Commons in tyme Royal Household and Downing Street. Like Jill Pay, of every Parliament”. A later patent for the first Serjeant he represents a new breed of Serjeant, with relevant to be appointed under Henry VIII in 1517 also stated experience gained in the House service, as well as in the that the Serjeant would attend the King when there was business world. no Parliament and the Speaker when there was one. The instruction to attend upon the Speaker first appeared in a grant to Maurice Gethyn in 1471 and has been repeated in the grants or patents of all succeeding Serjeants. Erskine May notes that the appointment of the Serjeant, still a Royal Appointment, is in the gift of the Queen under a warrant from the Lord Chamberlain and by patent under the Great Seal “to attend upon Her Majesty’s person when there is no Parliament”. Since 8 November 1962, when the subject was raised on the floor of the House, it has been the custom of the Crown to undertake formal consultation with the House, and in practice to accept the recommendations of an appointment board.3 There was a tradition of appointing Serjeants from the ranks of ex- military and navy personnel, preferably alternating the services. The most recent appointments have been made by fair and open competition in a procedure akin to civil service recruitment, with adverts, a full job description and an interview board with three or more officials. The first female Serjeant was appointed in 2008 and retired in 2012. After a varied career in business and in the civil service, Jill Pay had joined the House in 1994 as Head Office Keeper and became the first female Assistant Serjeant in 2004. Jill had undertaken projects such as allocating accommodation for , the new parliamentary building, illustrating the range of activities undertaken by the department. A special uniform was developed for her to wear. 6. Jill Pay, Serjeant at Arms 2008-12

3 Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice 2011 p106 4 House of Commons Debates 16 April 2012 c26 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

7. The 40th Serjeant Lawrence Ward, State Opening of Parliament 2013

8. State Opening of Parliament 2015

9. Lawrence Ward, State Opening of Parliament 2015 19

In 2008 the House underwent a significant reorganisation and a new Department of Facilities was created. Responsibilities for Works, Cleaning, Catering and other areas were realigned from the Serjeant at Arms to this new Department. This resulted in a reduction in the number of Serjeants from five to three – the Serjeant, Deputy Serjeant and Assistant Serjeant. However, as there was still a fundamental requirement to have a Serjeant always present within the Chamber when sitting, a new cadre of ‘Associate Serjeants’ was introduced. Associates are typically senior House staff who perform ‘day jobs’ in other parts of the organisation, but assist with Chamber duties. They wear a uniform identical to Serjeants and also assist the Serjeant with ceremonial occasions. The appointment of Victor Akinbile (photo) as an Associate Serjeant at Arms was noted in Early Day Motion 580 in the House in 20155:

That this House applauds the Serjeant at Arms on his appointment of Victor Akinbile, the first ethnic minority representative from the office of the Serjeant at Arms to sit in the House of Commons chamber in parliamentary history; and supports further measures to increase 10. Victor Akinbile, Associate Serjeant at Arms diversity in House of Commons staff, whilst continuing to hire on merit, to reflect the multiculturalism of the UK.

5 EDM 580 Victor Akinbile, 28 November 2014 www.parliament.uk/edm2014-15/580 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

The Mace Mr Speaker’s procession The Serjeant at Arms carries the Mace which is an For the Speaker’s procession, the Serjeant wears white emblem of office and a symbol of the House of Commons’ gloves, a sword, scabbard and sword sling. The Serjeant authority. It is placed on the Table in front of the Speaker’s still wears the sword in the Chamber. When the Court is Chair in the Chamber. The House can only sit and debate in mourning they wear black gloves, with black buckles if the Mace is present. on their shoes and breeches, and they carry a black sword, When the House dissolves, the Serjeant returns the Mace scabbard and sword sling. to St James’ Palace and he reverts to being a member of The dress of the Deputy Serjeant at Arms and Assistant the Royal Household, rather than serving the Commons. Serjeant at Arms is identical to that of the Serjeant at The first time that the Mace appears in any account of Arms except that they do not wear the Collar of Esses. ceremony in the House of Commons is in D’Ewes’s Jill Pay’s appointment as Assistant Serjeant in 2004, gave reference to Thomas Gargrave, who, on being approved by rise to the tricky question of how to adapt the uniform. the Queen as Speaker in 1559, ‘….departed with the other The brief for a uniform for a female Serjeant at Arms, Members of the House of Commons to their own House, based on the pattern established in the late eighteenth the Serjeant of the same carrying the Mace all the way century, was sent to a number of tailors and the design before the said Speaker’. submitted by Ede & Ravenscroft was accepted. Female For more on the Mace, see Library Document no 3 Serjeants wear a wool jacket, straight skirt, silk stockings The Mace in the House of Commons. and heeled patent leather shoes with silver buckles.

The ceremonial dress When attending the Speaker, the Serjeant at Arms wears a style of black cloth court dress with a sword. The outfit follows a pattern established in the late eighteenth century, and, for male Serjeants, consists of a wool jacket and waistcoat, knee breeches, silk stockings and patent leather shoes. Variations are made to the accoutrements depending on whether it is a typical sitting day or a special occasion, such as State Opening when the Sovereign is present. On a typical day, the Serjeant does not wear lace at the collar and cuffs or put on the Collar of Esses of a Royal Serjeant- at-Arms. The collar worn by the Serjeant also has a long history. 11. The Speaker of the House of the Commons processes to Central Lobby The actual collar is known as a livery collar, and was worn in medieval times. The Collar of Esses dates back to the 14th century and the origins are suspected to lie with the house of Lancaster and Henry IV. His family motto was “Sovereign” so it is thought that the esses-intertwined letter 12. Ss- denote the word “sovereign”. Original designs for When Henry VII became king of England, he merged the female version of the the two important houses of York and Lancaster. The Serjeant’s uniform produced by Ede & Ravenscroft also wears a Collar of Esses intermingled with a Tudor rose. Since Tudor times, people of high importance or those who work on behalf of the Sovereign have worn a collar of esses. 21

13. Serjeant’s uniform: a sketch from the Parliamentary Archives dated 1835 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS 23

14. Sketches of uniforms with descriptions and amendments to the pictures, 1948; 1955. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Chapter Two Development of the Disciplinary Powers of the House of Commons – Role of the Serjeant

Early history By the end of the seventeenth century it seems to have The Ferrers case in 1545 was the first time that the become generally accepted that the Mace had to be Commons used their Serjeant’s power of arrest physically present in the chamber for the Commons to be in formal session. Something else was needed if the without a warrant. The case began with a dispute Serjeant were to have the authority to take persons into with the which had arrested custody and to require the civil authorities to offer them all George Ferrers MP for debt. The Commons the assistance he needed in carrying out this task. This led ordered its Serjeant, John St John, to secure to the development of the Speaker’s warrant, allowing the his release, but he in turn was assaulted by the Mace to remain in the chamber, which is reflected in the Counter Clerks (City officials) and the Mace was formal rules of the Commons today. This chapter tracks the development of that authority. damaged. The Commons ordered the Serjeant to go back and fetch not only Ferrers, but all The House of Commons’ power to commit persons to custody is coterminous with the Serjeant’s formal the other offenders as well, and to summon the attendance on the House. Offenders committed by the Sheriffs and the Counter Clerks to appear before Commons are automatically discharged from their place the Speaker the next morning. They did so and of imprisonment on prorogation or dissolution, and the were all committed to the Tower. Hollinshead’s ability of the Commons to punish by imprisonment account says that ‘They of the Commons House… lapses when the Serjeant at Arms and the Mace are being of the clear opinion that all commandments absent.6 Some of the more notable instances of the Serjeant enforcing the disciplinary powers of the House proceeding from the Neather House were to be are described below. done and executed by their Serjeant without writ, only by show of his Mace which was his warrant’. 15. A true platforme and manner of the sittinge in the lower House of Parliament The Ferrers incident was notable because this was the first case of the Commons controlling and managing its privilege of freedom from arrest and molestation. They could not have done so without the open support of the King; and it is conceivable that Henry VIII personally encouraged the Commons not only to vindicate their privilege without going to the Courts of Law, but also to adopt an already obsolescent process in asserting their rights.

6 A true platforme and manner of the sittinge in the lower House of Parliament, image of the House of Commons Chamber in 1623. 25

The importance of royal approval was also shown in the arrest of the poet, John Milton, who was surely the most famous person to have been imprisoned by the Serjeant at Arms: The Restoration Commons conducted a campaign against the regicides of Charles I and for a while the poet John Milton seemed in serious danger, having served as Latin secretary to . On 16 June 1660 a Commons resolution was passed urging Charles II to have Milton’s works Eikonoklastes and Defensio burned by the public hangman. A royal proclamation to that effect was issued on 13 August. Milton had thought himself covered by the Act of Pardon and Indemnity 16. A group portrait Sergeant at Arms Bonfoy, his son, passed by both Houses on 28 August, but in and John Clementson the autumn he was arrested and imprisoned by the Serjeant of the Commons in pursuance of the August 13 proclamation. He made a formal The case of Sir Francis Burdett v Charles Abbot 1810 application for Pardon under the Act of Indemnity illustrated the power of the Commons to use the Serjeant and on 15 December the Commons appears to to imprison a Member for breach of privilege. The unfortunate Serjeant was not promised immunity by either have released him after a four month stay following the Speaker or the Attorney General for his attempt to a payment being made, giving order that “Mr break into the House of Sir Francis and seize him for Milton, now in Custody of the Serjeant at Arms breach of privilege. It took two battalions of Foot Guards attending this House, paying his Fees”. and two regiments of Cavalry to escort the Serjeant’s A parliamentary diarist recorded that Mr Milton coach holding Burdett through the crowd towards the had had to pay £150 for release. At this time Milton , where the Commons had ordered he be 7 imprisoned: the Life Guards had to charge down Piccadilly was blind and in poor health. twice, and a number of people were killed. The dangers for a Serjeant of not obeying the commands of the Commons became apparent in the case of Sir James Northfolk, Serjeant during the reign of Charles II. During the course of a quarrel between the Lords and Commons in 1675, Northfolk had been instructed to arrest four counsels who were appearing in a case in the . He had second thoughts about the propriety of holding them in custody and decided to release them: this infuriated the Commons, who ordered him to be committed to the Tower, and asked Charles II to appoint another Serjeant. In 1660 Northfolk had undertaken the grim task of exhuming Oliver Cromwell so he could be hanged and beheaded at Tyburn. As a reward, he obtained the copper gilt burial plate from Cromwell’s tomb. The plate resurfaced recently at Sotheby’s.8 The sale price far exceeded its £12,000 estimate and fetched £74,500.

7 Barbara K Lewalski The Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography (2000) pp401-404 8 Oliver Cromwell Copper Gilt Coffin Plate Sotheby’s Auctions 17. Edward Colman, Serjeant at Arms 1775-1805 December 2014. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Nineteenth century challenges BRADLAUGH Verses GOSSETT. Charles Bradlaugh fought a long battle to take his seat in the Commons as a duly elected MP from 1880 to 1886, the Commons Serjeant, Sir Ralph Gossett, played a prominent part in the skirmishes. The Commons refused to allow him to take the parliamentary oath required of every newly elected MP as he was a well-known atheist and republican and there was no provision for an alternative procedure of affirmation. Over the next six years, he was excluded from the House, unseated four times, but re-elected for the same constituency every time. Gossett, as Serjeant, was required to obey the Commons in excluding Bradlaugh, 18. John Bull the Judge or The Conspirators sometimes by force. Gossett acted as the enforcer of the will of the Commons, although by the end Following the re-building of the Palace of Westminster of the episode, a new Speaker adopted a more after the 1834 fire, a room in the bottom part of the conciliatory approach. Some key dates are: Clock Tower was used to confine unruly Members in when committed to the custody of the Serjeant at Arms. 22 June 1880, Speaker Brand required Bradlaugh Technically, a Member so committed could be detained for to remove himself from the Chamber, but after the remainder of the Parliamentary Session but one day became the general rule. The last Member committed was his refusal, the Commons voted for Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (MP for Northampton), who spent the to be imprisoned in the clock tower under night of 23 June 1880 in the room. the supervision of Gossett. He was released the following day, having received courteous treatment from the Serjeant.

10 May 1881, when the House resolved that Bradlaugh be excluded not only from the Chamber but also from the precincts of the House, Gossett escorted him from the estate.

3 August 1881, when leader of a large public demonstration, Bradlaugh attempted to enter the Chamber he was forcibly removed by David Erskine, Deputy Serjeant, and several messengers and policemen who dragged the resistant MP through the Lobby into Palace Yard.

19. At the Bar of the House: A recent incident in the House of Commons 27

21. Arrest Mr Bradlaugh, House Commons

20. This Fell Serjeant – strict in his arrest, cartoon of Lord Charles Russell by Coide in Vanity Fair

9 February 1884 Lord Chief Justice Mr Coleridge gave his judgment in the celebrated case brought by Bradlaugh against the Commons authorities for refusing him the right to take his seat. Bradlaugh had checked with Sir Ralph Gossett that as the legal and recognised of the House, Gossett would be the appropriate defendant. The case was of first class constitutional importance, with Coleridge concluding “What is said or done within the walls of Parliament cannot be inquired into a Court of law.”9 It remains a leading judgment in the area of parliamentary privilege.

9 Bradlaugh v Gossett 1884 12 Q.B. D, 271 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

.

22. Speaker Henry Brand, the Speaker’s Procession in 1884 by Francis Although Bradlaugh lost the case determining the Wilfred Lawson. Speaker’s Procession through the House of Commons Commons’ power to control its own internal procedures, Lobby with Speaker Henry Brand he won the right to take his seat after the general election of 1885. Speaker Arthur Wellesley Peel used his authority on 13 January 1886 to rule that in a new Parliament he would make the decision on exclusion, rather than referring it to the House for a new resolution. Bradlaugh took the oath that day and remained a Member until his death in 1891,10 having successfully introduced a Bill which led to the Oaths Act 1888, allowing an affirmation to be taken in all cases where an oath was necessary. The Serjeant still has a role to play in upholding decisions of the House, even if they are later rescinded. In 1881, the Commons faced a much more coordinated campaign of disruption, led by the Irish Nationalists. A Standing Order was passed on 28 February 1880 (now SO 44) authorising the Serjeant to enforce a decision of the House to suspend a Member in cases where that Member did not withdraw willingly.

10 House of Commons Debates 26 January 1886 http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1886/jan/26/ parliamentary-oath-mr-bradlaugh 29

23. The Terrace by Milly Childers 1909. Sir David Erskine (Serjeant 1885-1915 on the Terrace). A group portrait of various Members of Parliament and Sir David Erskine, the Serjeant at Arms, relaxing on the Members Terrace overlooking the Thames. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

24. Sketch, “The House of Commons all Sixes and Sevens” for ‘Punch’. March 1890. 31

25. Sketch, “Neutral Ground: the Serjeant-at-arms “At Home”” for ‘Punch’. 13 June 1885. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

26. The defeat of obstruction in the House of Commons: Removal of Mr Parnell by Order of the Speaker – 1881, artist unknown.

Disruption of the Commons by the Irish The following day, 2 February 1881, Parnell and Parliamentary Party. Against a background of 35 other MPs were named and suspended for the a popular campaign on land reform, much of remainder of the day for disruption in challenging was in uproar in 1880 and the Liberal the decision of the Speaker. The Serjeant at Arms Government decided to bring in measures on was required to remove them, as they declined to coercion in Ireland. This legislation (Preservation withdraw except by the use of force. Later that day of Life and Property (Ireland) Bill) was bitterly the Commons agreed a resolution to allow the opposed by Charles Stewart Parnell and the Irish closure of debate. Subsequently Parliament passed Nationalist MPs, and they deployed delaying legislation in August 1881 reforming agrarian tactics until Speaker Brand used his authority to rents in Ireland, but this was opposed by Parnell introduce a closure of debate as the only effective who was arrested in Ireland in October 1881, means of continuing with parliamentary business. but eventually released without charge the Brand’s action was firmly endorsed. following year. 33

Suffragettes and the Serjeant at Arms There was an organised campaign by women to obtain The ‘Index Expurgatorius’ was the blacklist of people the parliamentary vote from the mid-nineteenth century. banned from the building, which included a number of Initially this was a peaceful campaign, using methods such suffragettes. Overall more than 50 suffragette related as petitioning, marching and lobbying. However from incidents took place in the Palace between 1906 and 1914, 1906 the Women’s Social and Political Union and later when militancy largely ceased at the outbreak of the First the Women’s Freedom League – whose members became . known as suffragettes- began to adopt militant tactics, including attacks on property such as stone-throwing and window-breaking. The Palace of Westminster was the target of many attacks, as suffragettes wished to influence Members and Ministers. As the official person responsible for security in the building, the then Serjeant at Arms, Sir David Erskine, received regular reports from Chief Inspector Scantlebury of the Metropolitan Police on suffragette incidents which clearly took up a lot of time for the police and the Serjeant. Suffragettes created disturbances by jumping on chairs and shouting, stamping slogans on walls, being delivered as packages in vans, attempting to land on the river terrace by boat, and many more instances. Initially disturbances took place in Central Lobby, but in 1907 the Serjeant ordered that women should be banned from Central 27. Newspaper report from The Daily Mirror. A suffragette’s Lobby, so much activity moved to St Stephen’s Hall. Some “graffiti” on a wall in St Stephen’s entrance causes well-known incidents affecting Parliament as a building “outrage”, 1906-1927. include the attempt to ‘rush’ Parliament in June 1908, led by Emmeline Pankhurst; the chaining of four other suffragettes to statues in St Stephen’s Hall in April 1909; and the chaining of two suffragettes from the Women’s Freedom League to grilles covering the windows of the Ladies’ Gallery in October 1908. Most famous perhaps is Emily Wilding Davison’s stay in the broom cupboard in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, on census night in April 1911. Davison was involved in at least four other incidents in the building and in June 1910 the Serjeant forwarded the details to the Speaker, James Lowther, who replied:

Dear Erskine, A lady who breaks the windows of the Crown Office and gets into our ventilation shaft is evidently not a desirable personage to have hanging about St Stephen’s Hall so her name had better go on the Index Expurgatorius.

Yours sincerely, James Lowther. 28. Picture from the illustrated London News held by the Commons Library of a Suffragette being removed by Doorkeepers from the Ladies Gallery of the Commons having chained herself to the window grill. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

29. Official internal memo from Serjeant at Arms to ban the admittance of (Estelle) Sylvia Pankhurst (and her associate) – daughter to Emmeline Pankhurst the British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement. 16 April 1919.

30. “What is Justice” campaign leaflet for the Suffragists’ Vigilance League, 1906-1927. 35

31. H D Erskine, Esq Serjeant at Arms, House of Commons. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Chapter Three

One man was killed in action: Corporal Reginald World Wars and Parliament Lanchbery, a Sessional Cleaner, who volunteered for As the Commonwealth commemorate the centenary of service with the 8th Royal Highlanders (the Black Watch) the First World War, this chapter reflects on the impact on in December 1914, fought at Loos in September 1915 and the Serjeant at Arms at a time when he was the manager died on 17 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. He is for significant numbers of House staff. The House became remembered on Parliament’s First World War memorial a very different place during the hostilities, as many House in Westminster Hall, and in the House of Commons Book staff joined up and around 240 Members served in the of Remembrance. armed forces. Four female Porters, or Girl Porters as they were known, were employed from April 1917 to replace male The Serjeant at Arms Department workers: the first women to be employed by the House and the First World War of Commons in any role other than cleaners or kitchen staff. They were Elsie and Mabel Clark (aged 16 and When war broke out in August 1914, the Serjeant at 14), Dorothy Hart (age 18) and Vera Goldsmith (age Arms Department employed dozens of men working in 16). The Clark sisters were nieces of Samuel Clark; Hart a variety of roles, including as porters, attendants and and Goldsmith previously worked as Girl Messengers at cleaners. Many men of fighting age either volunteered the War Office. They all wore War Office girl messenger for active service, or were conscripted later on. Eight men uniforms of brown drill overalls and hats, and worked volunteered in the first week of August 1914; amazingly, delivering mail and parcels between offices in Parliament. all eight made it through the war to demobilisation in The Girl Porters were discharged in March 1919 to make 1919. way for returning male staff who had been demobilised, Some men applied for active service but were exempted except for Mabel Clark who sadly died of influenza on grounds of health, age or other considerations, such in November 1918. Despite initial doubts, they were a as Samuel Clark, a Cleaner and then an Attendant for great success. The Assistant Serjeant at Arms, Walter H the Serjeant from 1898. Clark volunteered to serve in Erskine wrote, ‘It is impossible for me to speak too highly 1915 and was called up in 1916, but when his wife died of the way these three girls have done their work while leaving a young child, he was sent home. Mr W. Cotter, at the House of Commons, and their conduct has been Nightwatchman, was exempted on medical grounds, exemplary throughout.11 having had a leg amputated in 1900. Most of the men who During the First World War the House came under direct remained working in the Serjeant’s department through attack for the first time as a result of German air raids. A the war were above service age. historic event took place on 18 December 1917 when A list from May 1918 gives the names of 29 men in business in both chambers was suspended due to the threat the Serjeant’s Department who were serving or who of an air raid. had served in the armed forces during the First World The Chairman of Committees, Mr Whitley, suspended War. They included 13 privates, 4 sergeants, 3 gunners, a the sitting at 7pm, but when the Commons returned after sergeant , an acting corporal, an acting lance corporal, 9pm a combative backbencher, Mr Pemberton-Billing, a corporal, a leading seaman, a lieutenant, a lieutenant became indignant on a point of order, stating “are we to colonel, a chief petty officer and an aircraft mechanic. understand that if another warning be given this House They served in a wide variety of regiments and other areas, will proceed to the cellars again?” Mr Whitley made it including the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Army Medical clear that the military authorities had made a request Corps and the Labour Company. Four of the men served but not an order to the House. Later on that night, the in the Scots Guards and four in the Royal Field Artillery. Speaker said that he took full responsibility for the They served abroad, including in France, and Turkey, decision. This was in response to a point of order from Mr and also closer to home; Lieutenant and Quartermaster G Pemberton Billing: ` “will you please give your ruling as to Weaver served at the Prisoners of War Camp, Kenninghall, whether or not it is the intention of the Chair to adjourn East Harling, in Norfolk. Some were wounded during the House again this evening in the event of the return of service and returned to work for the Serjeant, including enemy aeroplanes? In fact, the House had been suspended Corporal A. Allcock, who served abroad in the Scots earlier, but this was not a formal adjournment.” Guards but was discharged with gunshot wounds in May 1916.

11 Contributed by Dr Mari Takayanagi Parliamentary Archives. 37

Another backbencher, Mr Hogge, had remarked earlier that “there has been some additional instructions issued to the Press of this country that they are to make no reference to the fact that the sitting of the House is suspended”. This was also noted by Michael Macdonough, the Times parliamentary correspondent who wrote that “an official message of explanation was sent to the Reporter’s Gallery”.12 The Lords also suspended their sitting, according to Macdonagh, but there were no subsequent protests.

Parliament and the War Air raid precautions (ARP) came into effect on the outbreak of the war. A machine gun post was set up on the riverside Terrace and in Parliament Square. There was even a pillbox, housing a machine gun, which was disguised as a WH Smith’s bookstall. Fire was a major risk to such an old building. As a royal palace, the Houses of Parliament were not bound by regulations enacted in early 1941 which made fire- watching compulsory, so arrangements were made that relied largely on volunteers. When these arrangements proved inadequate, regulations were formulated which specifically required all British men working in Parliament to perform fire prevention duties. Earl Winterton recorded that he served as a firewatcher under the custodians (uniformed officials managed by the ). The formation of a Home Guard Company helped with fire-watching, ARP and related duties. The company also provided an armed guard of honour at wartime State Openings of Parliament, and put anti-tank obstacles at the end of Westminster Bridge

32. Parliamentary Home Guard unit (The Palace of Westminster Company). In 1940 a Parliamentary Home Guard unit - “The Palace of Westminster Company” - was established, consisting of around one hundred Members and staff of both Houses. During the war, the Company took part in fire- watching duties, manned a gun at the exit to Westminster Underground Station and undertook a wide variety of training schemes. During the State Opening of Parliament in 1942 they formed a guard of honour for the King in the Royal Gallery and in that same year were inspected by Churchill. a. An inspection of the Parliamentary Home Guard by the , Lord Simon. Image shows both men and women volunteers. Early 1940s. b. Winston Churchill inspecting the Parliamentary Home Guard, 1942. c. Volunteers of the Parliamentary Home Guard potato peeling. Early 1940s.

12 Michael MacDonagh In London during the Great War 1935 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

In 1940 a Parliamentary Home Guard unit – The Palace accompanied by the Serjeant. This arrangement proved of Westminster Company was established, consisting of so popular that the practice was maintained after the around one hundred Members and staff of both Houses. Commons returned to its own Chamber.15 During the ward, the Company took part in fire-watching State Openings continued to take place from 1945 to 1950. duties, manning a gun at the exit to Westminster MPs gathered in St Stephens Hall for their meeting before Underground Station and undertook a wide variety of 13 being summoned to the Lords Chamber by Black Rod. training schemes. Full ceremonial dress did not return until 1950. All these Parliament even had its own on-site munitions factory. temporary arrangements were made by staff reporting to Permission was granted in February 1943 by the Lord the Serjeant. Great Chamberlain, following pressure from the Minister of Production, who had been lobbied by MPs and staff anxious to undertake war work. The factory started work that December, making parts for antiaircraft guns, assembling detonator holders and priming fuses, and it remained operational until mid-1945.14 The unit was run under the direction of the Ministry of Supply by volunteers composed of MPs and their wives, and parliamentary staff from both Houses. It operated from an underground vault containing maintenance workshops situated beneath Central Lobby. The Palace of Westminster was under much more significant threat during the Second World War. House of Commons Library Document No 20 In Parliament 1939-50 tells the full story. The night of Saturday and Sunday 10 and 11 May 1941 was the worst of the London Blitz, and almost 1500 people were killed. The Palace was hit more than a dozen times. The most serious damage was to the Commons chamber but Westminster Hall was also hit and only saved by impromptu action from Colonel Walter Elliott MP, who organised its rescue after smashing the North door to allow access for firemen. A Select Committee was appointed on the rebuilding of the House, which reported in October 1944. The report was debated in January 1945. The Chamber was rebuilt and opened in October 1950. Gifts of money and materials were made by several Commonwealth countries. As a result of the bomb damage, the Commons sat in the Lords Chamber from late June 1941 until the Commons Chamber was rebuilt with the exception of short periods in a Church House annexe, off Great Smith Street in Westminster. (The Lords sat in the King’s Robing Room). To reach the temporary Commons chamber, the Speaker’s Procession had to pass through Central Lobby,

33. Destroyed House of Commons Chamber Photograph of the Palace of Westminster, war-time damage and post war reconstruction. 13 And what a plan! D-Day and Parliament in wartime, Parliamentary Archives [online], June 2014 (accessed on 8 June 2015): www.parliament.uk/business/publications/parliamentary-archives/ archives-highlights/archives-d-day/ 14 Barry Winetrobe, Jane Seaton in Total Politics: Devastation in the Chamber 17 September 2010 15 Library Document 20 In Parliament 1939-50 p31 39

34. A posed portrait of officers of the House on special occasions connected with the Palace. Speaker’s procession on VE Day, 8 May 1945.

AP Herbert MP’s impression of the war time palace:16

It was a pretty grim place to work in, too… The black-out in such a building was an almost impossible problem. A few hurricane lamps on the floor were the only lighting of the great Central Hall, and they made it a lofty tomb of gloom. All the windows went in the early blitzes; the east side was all cardboard and sandbags, and you could not see the river from the Smoking Room. On the terrace was a Guards machine gun post…Our favourite pictures and tapestries were taken down and left depressing gaps. The Harcourt [Churchill] Room was full of beds for the ARP- the lower corridors were anti-gas refuges. The Smoking Room closed earlier – very rightly – to let the staff get home before the blitz. And all the time there was the feeling that the things that mattered were happening elsewhere – a strange sad feeling for the proud MP and law-giver.

16 Library Document 20 In Parliament 1939-50 p38 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Chapter Four Serjeants and disruption in the Seizing the Mace Occasionally, the actions of an MP when motivated by twentieth century and beyond extreme emotion are overlooked. This was the case with The extent of disruption in the chamber tends to ebb and Bernadette Devlin who seized the Mace in protest at not flow with the state of political tension. After a period being called during a statement on Bloody Sunday in of relative calm between the Second World War and (London)Derry on 31 January 1972, where 13 people were the 1970s, the 1980s were a time of disruption, with shot dead. She assaulted the Home Secretary, Reginald ideological tensions between and within the parties, as well Maudling, but was not named or suspended by the Speaker. as concerns about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and On 27 May 1976 after a very close vote on the Aircraft the new representation within the Commons of nationalist 17 and Shipbuilding Bill disputed by the Conservative parties in and Wales. Opposition, Shadow Secretary of State for Industry, Standing Order No 44(4) authorising the Serjeant to Michael Heseltine, seized the Mace and advanced towards use force – if the Speaker so directs – against a Member the Government Bench. The Speaker suspended the sitting who refuses to withdraw from the Chamber has not been for 20 minutes and then the House was adjourned. used since 1931: Since then Members have always left The most recent incident where the Mace was seized the Chamber when ‘named’ by the Speaker, and when occurred during a debate on a proposed building of a third summoned by the Serjeant to withdraw. runway at Heathrow Airport on 15 January 2009. John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, protested On 2 July 1931 John McGovern, MP for about a planning decision in relation to Heathrow Shettleston in Glasgow, was concerned about the Airport and said that the decision not to hold a vote on imprisonment of four lay preachers in Glasgow the runway was a “national disgrace”. The then Assistant who had breached council by-laws on using public Serjeant, Lawrence Ward, subsequently received praise parks and challenged the Lord Advocate to release from the Speaker and the Clerk for ensuring the dignity of the men. He was named by Speaker FitzRoy but proceedings was maintained by escorting the Member out of the Chamber and calmly replacing the Mace that the after the division supporting the naming decision, 19 Member had placed on the Government benches. McGovern refused to withdraw for the rest of the day, and had to be removed by force under the direction of the Serjeant. According to the Order keeping in recent times parliamentary report in the Times the following When disruption occurs, the Speaker and Serjeant work closely together to keep order. In 1980 Speaker Thomas day, other MPs James Maxton, John Beckett and managed to secure the withdrawal of a Member, Dennis John Kinley helped him resist the Serjeant, causing Skinner, MP for Bolsover, without ‘naming’ him. He a mass brawl and a suspension of the sitting for 19 ordered the Serjeant to ‘ensure’ that the Honourable minutes. Under the terms of the relevant standing Member complied with the Speaker’s direction to order McGovern was suspended for the rest of withdraw – a method that had not been used since the 20 the session.18 nineteenth century. Mr Skinner then left the Chamber. On 21 November 1984 the sitting was suspended twice in one day as thirty MPs stood in front of the Mace in protest at the reduction of benefits for people involved in the miners’ strike. Speaker Weatherill was forced to

19 Footage from the Parliamentary cameras during the “seizing of the Mace” incident on 15 January 2009, Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU). At the point of 12:47:37, Lawrence Ward (then Assistant Serjeant) retrieves the Mace from the benches and returns it to its rightful place: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/04692449-e7c1- 17 David Judge Political Studies 1992 XL 532-553 “Disorder in the 4126-b92c-1ae0a67d29ac?in=12:46:00 © UK Parliament. ‘Frustration’ Parliaments of Thatcherite Britain” This footage is subject to Parliamentary copyright. 18 House of Commons Debates 2 July 1931 c1470 20 House of Commons Debates 24 June 1980 cc216-18 41

adjourn the House, initially for 10 minutes and then for the rest of the day.21 The Serjeant stood by in case of the need to remove any Member. Further disruption occurred on 17 January 1985 when Mr Speaker had to suspend the sitting for 20 minutes.22 There was more disruption on 17 December 1992 when some Scottish MPs protested about the Government treatment of Scottish hospitals and disrupted business on the day before the parliamentary recess. They stood in front of the Mace to register their discontent. Speaker Betty Boothroyd later recalled that she was not convinced that she would obtain the necessary majority for a vote to name the offending Members, and after two suspensions of sitting she took the decision on her authority to adjourn the House.23 Order-keeping in the Chamber frequently throws up new problems. On 13 November 1980 a group of Opposition Members prevented Black Rod from going beyond the Bar of the House to deliver his message as part of prorogation of the Parliament, saying that they would not allow him to proceed until the Government acceded to their requests; and on another occasion, while the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Prior, was making a statement on the murder of the Unionist MP Robert Bradford, the Speaker ordered three Members to withdraw from an upstairs gallery. Not only were they the first Members to have been ‘named’ when seated upstairs in the Members’ side gallery, but they comprised the entire parliamentary membership of the Democratic Unionist Party. The Serjeant is recorded in Hansard as having repeated the request from Mr Speaker to withdraw.24 There has been a noticeable decline in disruption since 1990,25 but there are still instances which demand the concentration and quick reaction of the Speaker and Serjeant. In 2008 a new situation arose over the question of searching Members’ offices.

21 House of Commons Debates 21 November 1984 c386 22 House of Commons Debates 17 January 1985 cc525-6 23  House of Commons Debates 17 December 1992 cc585-8 Betty Boothroyd: The Autobiography 2001 pp 176-8 24 House of Commons Debates 16 November 1981 c23. Times Digital Archive 17 November 1981 “Paisley vows to make Ulster ungovernable after Commons uproar” 25 “Peace and quiet in the House of Commons 1990-2010” Faith Armitage Democratization, 20:3, 456-477 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Text of Standing ~Orders on by the chair, immediately after House to the fact that recourse to Disruption (May 2015)26 the commission of the offence of force is necessary in order to compel disregarding the authority of the obedience to his direction, and the Order in the House chair, or of persistently and wilfully Member or Members named by Irrelevance or repetition. obstructing the business of the House him as having refused to obey his by abusing the rules of the House or direction shall thereupon and without 42.— otherwise, then if the offence has been any further question being put be The Speaker, or the chair, after having committed by such Member in the suspended from the service of the called the attention of the House, or House, the Speaker shall forthwith put House during the remainder of the of the committee, to the conduct of a the question, on a motion being made, session. Member who persists in irrelevance, ‘That such Member be suspended or tedious repetition either of his own from the service of the House’; and (5)Nothing in this order shall be taken arguments or of the arguments used by if the offence has been committed to deprive the House of the power other Members in debate, may direct in a committee of the whole House, of proceeding against any Member him to discontinue his speech. the chair shall forthwith suspend according to ancient usages. the proceedings of the committee Sub judice. Members suspended, &c., to withdraw and report the circumstances to the from precincts. 42A.— House; and the Speaker shall on a The Speaker, or the chair, may direct motion being made forthwith put 45.— any Member who breaches the terms the same question as if the offence (1)Members who are ordered to of the sub judice resolution of the had been committed in the House withdraw under Standing Order No. House to resume his seat. itself. Proceedings in pursuance of this 43 (Disorderly conduct) or who are paragraph, though opposed, may be suspended from the service of the Disorderly conduct. decided after the expiration of the time House shall forthwith withdraw from for opposed business. the precincts of the House. 43.— The Speaker, or the chair, shall order (2)If any Member be suspended (2)Suspension from the service of the any Member or Members whose under paragraph (1) of this order, his House shall not exempt the Member conduct is grossly disorderly to suspension on the first occasion shall so suspended from serving on any withdraw immediately from the continue for five sitting days, and on committee for the consideration of a House during the remainder of that the second occasion for twenty sitting private bill to which he may have been day’s sitting; and the Serjeant at Arms days, including in either case the day appointed before the suspension. shall act on such orders as he may on which he was suspended, but, on receive from the chair in pursuance of any subsequent occasion, until the Suspension of salary of Members this order. But if on any occasion the House shall resolve that the suspension suspended. Speaker, or the chair, deems that his of such Member do terminate. 45A.— powers under the previous provisions (3)Not more than one Member shall The salary of a Member suspended of this order are inadequate, he may from the service of the House shall name such Member or Members, be named at the same time, unless two or more Members, present together, be withheld for the duration of his in which event the same procedure suspension. shall be followed as is prescribed by have jointly disregarded the authority Standing Order No. 44 (Order in of the chair. Power of the Speaker to adjourn debate). (4)If a Member, or two or more House or suspend sitting. Order in debate. Members acting jointly, who have 46.— been suspended under this order from In case of grave disorder arising in the 44.— the service of the House, shall refuse House the Speaker may, if he thinks (1)Whenever a Member shall have to obey the direction of the Speaker, it necessary to do so, adjourn the been named by the Speaker, or when severally summoned under House without putting any question, the Speaker’s orders by the Serjeant or suspend the sitting for a time to be at Arms to obey such direction, the named by him. Speaker shall call the attention of the 26 Standing Orders of the House of Commons Public Business 2015 43

Concordat between House of Commons Witnesses and Metropolitan Police If a Select Committee has issued a summons to a witness As part of an inquiry into the leaking of official to attend, or produce papers, and the witness has not information, police arrested a Member, Damian Green, responded, it is for the House to act (or not) on the basis MP for Ashford, and searched his Commons offices of a report made to it by the committee. on 27 November 2008, having secured consent to do so A refusal by a witness to attend a Select Committee from the Serjeant at Arms, then Jill Pay. In a statement hearing may be construed as a contempt of Parliament. If on 3 December 2008 Speaker Martin announced the a witness is unwilling to attend, the Committee can agree development of a new protocol requiring a warrant for to order the attendance of a witness at a specified date 27 any future searches or access to papers. The protocol and time. Such an order is signed by the Chairman of the required the presence of the Serjeant at Arms, Speaker’s Committee and is served personally by a member of the Counsel or their representative for a search to take Serjeant at Arms’ office. Similarly, an order may be served place. Such protocols have become relatively common in upon a witness who is not a Minister, a Member of either Commonwealth Parliaments, such as Australia and New House, or an officer of a Government department for Zealand. Members remain subject to the criminal law and the production of papers or records required by a Select therefore arrangements are necessary for their arrest that Committee. do not infringe parliamentary privilege. Following a request from the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport for Rupert and James Murdoch Disciplinary powers – non-members to appear before the Committee, Lawrence Ward, then Assistant Serjeant at Arms, personally delivered a In recent years the Serjeant’s tasks outside the House summons to appear to a lawyer representing News Corp have centred on ensuring the attendance of witnesses at at the offices of News International in Wapping on 14 July Select Committee hearings or in the production of papers 2011.28 This received wide media coverage (front pages of for them; normally this is done by the Serjeant’s Clerk in Times and Guardian). There was particular interest in the Charge who is the Warrant Officer of the House serving fact that Ward used the London Underground, rather than the appropriate orders on those concerned. horseback, to travel to Wapping! The previous last use of the warrant to summon witnesses was in January 1992 (when the sons of the late newspaper owner Robert Maxwell were reluctant to attend a hearing of the Social Security Select Committee on the shortfall of pension funds for employees of the Maxwell businesses). In November 1982, the Warrant Officer of the House and Clerk in Charge of the Serjeant at Arms Office, Miss Mary Frampton, served a warrant on the President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, ordering him to appear before the Select Committee on Energy on 24 November 1982.

35. Mary Frampton serving a warrant on Arthur Scargill, President of the National Union of Mineworkers November 1982.

27 For background see Committee on Issue of Privilege First Report 28 House Magazine 17 May 2012 “Lawrence Ward: Stepping in the Police Searches on the Parliamentary Estate HC 62 2009-10 Breeches”. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

The last time a fine was imposed on a non-Member by the The Bar of the House is the name given to Commons was on 6 February 1666. Thomas White was the white line at the entrance to the Chamber. fined £1000 for absconding after being ordered into the Members of the House of Lords and the public custody of the Serjeant at Arms. He had caused Henry Chowne MP for Horsham to be arrested and so prevented are not allowed beyond the Bar when the from attending Parliament. House is sitting. The last non-Member to be imprisoned was Charles Grissell in 1880 for a breach of privilege in connection On 6 February 1750, Alexander Murray was called with the proceedings of the Committee of the Tower High to the Bar in connection with malpractice in a Level Bridge (Metropolis) Bill. Imprisonment is no longer City of Westminster election. Found guilty by the a power upheld by the Commons.29 House, he was ordered into custody at Newgate prison until the end of that parliamentary session. When hearing sentence, he refused to kneel at the Bar and was further found guilty of a “high and most dangerous contempt of the authority and privilege of this House”. The House further ordered that while in Newgate, (Murray) “be not allowed the use of pens, ink or paper; and that no person be admitted to have access unto him, without the leave of this House”.30

The last stranger or (non-Member) to be brought before the Bar and admonished by the Speaker was the editor John Junor on 24 January 1957, for an article published in the Sunday Express casting doubt on the honour and integrity of Members. Junor apologised and no further action was taken. The last Member to be admonished was Tam Dalyell on 24 July 1968 for passing the contents of a draft Select Committee report to the press. Since the House of Commons resolved in 1977 to consider using its penal powers only in cases of substantial interference with its work, or the threat of substantial interference, fewer cases have been considered, and in no case has the House punished a non-member.

29 House of Commons Background Paper Disciplinary and Penal Powers of the House of Commons 30 Commons Journal 6 February 1750 45

Protestors Recent disruptions by non-Members Standing Order No 161 instructs the Serjeant to take into custody anybody who misconducts himself or herself in the public galleries of the House. Any visitor who decides to create a demonstration or other form of disorder can be removed and held in custody by the police until the rising of the House. Disturbances occurring within the public galleries of the House, whether in the Chamber or in any of its Committees, are dealt with by the Serjeant at Arms and their team of Doorkeepers. Offenders are removed and escorted from the premises. When Rupert Murdoch appeared before the Culture Media and Sport Committee on 19 July 2011, a protestor threw a paper plate of shaving foam at him. The protestor was removed from the Committee room by Doorkeepers and police, and arrested. 36. Security breach events in Parliament – Hunting ban debates, 12 September 2004. If the disruption is serious enough to interrupt a sitting of the House or Committee, offender(s) may be detained in a police custody room on the premises until the rise Five protestors stormed the Commons Chamber of the House. If criminal charges are considered, the on 12 September 2004 as part of a protest against House can allow the offender to be transferred into police legislation to ban fox hunting with dogs. The custody outside the Palace of Westminster. This occurred then Deputy Speaker, Sylvia Heal, immediately on 23 July 1970 when CS gas canisters were thrown into suspended the sitting under for 20 minutes Chamber from the Public Gallery, 6 July 1978 when straw under Standing Order 16, which deals with and manure were thrown into the Chamber from the Gallery, and most recently on 12 September 2004 when grave disorder, and the Commons Doorkeepers five protesters broke into the Chamber while MPs debated removed the men. They were subsequently 32 whether to ban hunting with dogs.31 arrested by police.

31  Archived House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G06 Disciplinary and Penal Powers of the House of Commons http://www. 32 MPs back hunting ban after protestors storm Commons, Daily parliament.uk/about/how/guides/factsheets/general/g06/ Telegraph [online], 15 September 2004 (accessed 8 June 2015). SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Suspect Powder Incident In September 2001 letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to the US Congress for a number of weeks, On 19 May 2004 Speaker Martin suspended the sitting resulting in five deaths and a brief suspension of Congress during Prime Minister’s Questions because something was sittings. Any threats to legislatures around the world thrown at the Prime Minister from the public galleries. therefore needed to be taken very seriously and suspicious The Speaker made the following statement when the substances treated with the utmost caution. House resumed later in the day:

Plane Stupid Mr. Speaker: Following this morning’s On 27 February 2008, five protestors from the Plane suspension in the Chamber, I wish to make a Stupid group got on to the roof of the Palace of 34 brief statement. Westminster and unfurled banners. Jill Pay, the then Serjeant at Arms sent the following message: As Members will know, a security screen has been erected in front of the main part of the Security Incident (27 February 2008; 18.51) Strangers Gallery. Members sponsoring guests or visitors for admission to the unscreened The protestors were escorted from the roof safely galleries are required to certify that their guests earlier today and have been arrested. They are are known to them. They are also required to in custody at Belgravia Police Station for further vouch for their good behaviour. Members whose questioning. guests disrupt the Chamber will be required to apologise to the House; it will be for the House to decide what further action to take. In this case, I understand that a member of the House of Lords signed in the visitor who disrupted our proceedings into the Gallery. […] I expect the relevant member of the House of Lords to provide me with a full explanation before this day is out. I am directing the Serjeant 37. Campaign Group “Plane at Arms that the right of members of the House Stupid” on the roof of the of Lords to sponsor visitors for admission to this Palace of Westminster, 23 Chamber is suspended with immediate effect. February 2008. I am pleased to inform the House that, after detailed examination, the substance has been found not to be harmful. I and the authorities in the House will review the way in which this incident has been dealt with to ensure that all appropriate procedures are followed, if necessary, in the future.33

33 House of Commons Debates 19 May 204 c975 34 BBC News, “Protestors scale Parliament roof ”, 27 February 2008 47

Chapter Five The differing responsibilities of the Serjeant at Arms Historically, the Serjeant at Arms has undertaken a number of different roles in the Palace of Westminster and the parliamentary estate. The office has been responsible for employing staff for various functions, ranging from housekeeping to visitor services in recent years. The following chapter summarises these duties.

Ceremonial The Serjeant at Arms’ ceremonial duties include escorting the Speaker on the procession from his state apartments to the Chamber before each sitting of the House. The Serjeant at Arms carries the Mace which is an emblem of office and a symbol of the House of Commons’ authority. It is placed on the table in front of the Speaker’s Chair in the Chamber. The House can only sit and debate if the Mace is present. In the Chamber either the Serjeant or one of the team of Serjeants sits in the Commons Chamber while the House is sitting. In recent years, assistants and associate Serjeants have been appointed to assist the Serjeant in taking their turn in the chamber or in attending meetings, or taking responsibility for projects. State Opening is the main ceremonial event of the 38. parliamentary calendar, attracting large crowds and a Lawrence Ward, 40th Serjeant at Arms. significant television and online audience. It begins when the Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to Westminster in a state coach, escorted by the Household Cavalry. The Queen arrives at Sovereign’s Entrance in the House of Lords and proceeds to the Robing Room. Wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, she leads the Royal Procession through the Royal Gallery, packed with 600 guests, to the chamber of the House of Lords. The House of Lords official known as Black Rod is sent to summon the Commons. The doors to the Commons chamber are shut in his face by the Serjeant: a practice dating back to the Civil War, symbolising the Commons’ independence from the monarchy. Black Rod strikes the door three times before it is opened. The Serjeant at Arms, carrying the Mace, then leads the procession to the Lords Chamber. The Serjeant is followed by the Speaker and Black Rod, and the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, MPs and senior Commons officials. Members of the Commons procession stand at the opposite end to the Throne, known as the Bar of the House, to listen to the speech. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Black Rod Black Rod in the House of Lords performs similar functions to the Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, to give its full title, began life sometime after 1348 when Edward III formed the . Knights of the Order of the Garter met regularly with the Sovereign and Black Rod was required to keep access, order and discipline around the Order. It is not known exactly when the first Black Rod was appointed. The Sovereign built a house for the first incumbent in 1352 even though the first known formal written record of a Black Rod is dated 1368. His duties “to keep the doors in the High Court called the Parliament” were recorded in the Garter Statutes as an ‘additional task’ only in 1522, but clearly dated from much earlier. Over the centuries, a triad of appointments was sometimes held separately and sometimes by one person, namely: the Serjeant at Arms – similar to the Serjeant in the Commons; the Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain – responsible for much of the administration of the House of Lords and managing the Queen’s apartments in the Palace of Westminster (The Robing Room, Royal Gallery, Westminster Hall and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft); and Black Rod. 39. Lieutenant General David Leakey CMG CBE MA, Black Rod Today Black Rod is recruited through a public selection process, but is appointed by the Sovereign. A Member of the House of Lords Management Board, Black Rod also has responsibility for: operational delivery of security; access, discipline and order in the House of Lords and, through the 23 Doorkeepers, its Chamber; the business resilience arrangements and contingency plans for both Houses of Parliament; organisation of State, ceremonial and other major events in the Palace of Westminster; the administrative control of the Sovereign’s apartments; and several coordination projects. Additionally Black Rod exercises his role as an officer of the Order of the Garter when the Knights of the Order meet in the presence of the Queen. 49

40. Doorkeepers

Day to day running of the Commons Doorkeepers On sitting days the Serjeant attends every morning, The Serjeant at Arms controls the Doorkeepers, or staff together with the senior Clerks, a conference with the who monitor the Chamber directly. References to the role Speaker at which the Deputy Speakers are also present. of Doorkeeper date back centuries. The day’s proceedings are discussed, together with The Issue Rolls of 1382 refers to two valets of the King’s additional topics such as the reception of important Household being rewarded ‘for their labour and diligence visitors, changes in the security situation and the need for continually staying at Westminster when the Parliament urgent written briefs for the Speaker and his colleagues was held there, and waiting to guard the doors of the on an issue which might be raised in the Chamber. There King’s Chamber while the Parliament was there’. remains the need for a Serjeant always to be present at his or her place in the Chamber, occasionally until well The Doorkeepers are responsible for security within the after 11pm, and for the Serjeant to be present or to be precincts of the Chamber and Committees of the House represented at frequent committee and management of Commons. They also provide support services to meetings during the working week. The Serjeant remains Members, the Chamber and Committees, and assist with available to the Speaker and the House at any time, day or ceremonial functions. night, during sitting periods and has an official residence within the precincts. Specific arrangements are necessary for ceremonial occasions, for the visits to Parliament of heads of state and other international figures, and for many official and private functions sponsored by the Speaker, Ministers and Members. SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Two Doorkeepers (one behind the Speaker’s The Times Friday, 16 April 1790 stated that a Mr chair and one in Members’ lobby) simultaneously Taylor, one of the Messengers of the House of shout “Who goes home?” when the House Commons, was appointed to the post of Under rises. This is often explained as an invitation Doorkeeper. At this time the structure of the to Members to join together in bands to cross Doorkeepers was very different: there was one what in the past were the dangerous unlit fields Doorkeeper an Under Doorkeeper and a Lower between Westminster and the City or to hire boats Doorkeeper; their purpose was to keep the Doors homeward on the Thames as a party in order to of the Chamber secure. Working for them were save the individual fares (the same may apply to an indeterminate number of Messengers. The taxis nowadays). Messengers would carry out the rest of the tasks performed by Doorkeepers today such as Doorkeepers perform a crucial role that underpins delivering letters and dealing with visitors. the security of the House, ensure public access, and support a framework of procedural duties and It was during this time that Doorkeeper badges of customs with which the Commons can function office were created as a symbol of authority. They effectively. In recent years the Doorkeepers have are gilded silver and form part of the . undertaken additional duties such as providing The badge depicts the Royal and security inside Committee meetings and a new hanging below is Mercury – the messenger of the tier of Doorkeepers has been recruited for security gods. The earliest badge that is still in use today positions that were previously undertaken by the dates from 1751. Metropolitan Police. From the Victorian era it was customary to recruit The first mention of a Doorkeeper connected Doorkeepers from the military. The Crimean to the Commons is in the Museum of London War and the Indian Mutinies brought the armed where, a leather belt attached to an iron key is on services into the public eye and there were display. This is labelled as a Doorkeeper’s key from campaigns to improve the lot of the men returning Westminster Hall circa 1550. home. Queen Victoria also took a keen interest, concluding. ‘who better to run the whole show Samuel Pepys noted in his diary on 3rd February than retiring heroes of the Crimea’. 1659 that ‘a Doorkeeper opened the House to show himself and his visitors around’. Pepys also Therefore, since around 1870 Doorkeepers were reported that on the restoration of the Rump recruited from men retiring from the armed Parliament several of the excluded Members forces of colour sergeant rank or higher and this gained admittance ‘through the inadvertence of recruitment was made by word of mouth. The first the Doorkeepers’. non-military Doorkeeper, George Blaylock, was recruited in 1993 and the first woman Doorkeeper, Maureen Coxon, in 1996. Today, Doorkeepers are recruited from all backgrounds, with women forming around one third of the workforce. 51

Pass Access Unit “Terrorism and security are not new to Parliament. The Serjeant is also responsible for the Pass Access Unit There have been four reported bombs, all associated which implements security clearance procedures and for with Irish republicanism. The first exploded in the the management of the pass system which serves both Chamber in 1885. Luckily, it caused no injury, only Houses of Parliament. The Unit has to deal with thousands damage. Later the same day, Constable William of applications for access to the precincts per month, Cole found a smoking bomb in Westminster Hall. from new staff, contractors, let alone the daily visitors to Parliament. He clearly had had no health and safety training. He picked up the bomb and started to run with it, presumably to drop it into the Thames. Other Duties However, the bomb got hotter and hotter and he Mass lobbies and large groups sometimes come to dropped it. It exploded, causing him serious injury, Parliament to express their views or to attend meetings. These take considerable management, so that as many of but he saved lives. He was invalided out and those who have made the effort to contact their MP may awarded the Albert medal.” achieve that goal. The Serjeant liaises with the Metropolitan Police when In 1972 a bomb exploded in a toilet in the House, causing large numbers are expected to ensure public order some damage. In March 1979, Airey Neave MP was killed is maintained and Parliament remains secure. The by a device which had been attached to his car. A timer on Metropolitan Police Service has been protecting and a tilt switch exploded as he drove up the exit ramp from keeping order on the Parliamentary Estate since 1839. the underground car park. They are contracted to the House Authorities and provide Subsequently, security passes were introduced for all staff, policing services through a Special Service Agreement. Members and other persons on the parliamentary estate. Access is another important issue, and the Serjeant needs The Joint Committee on Security is an advisory committee to ensure that all members of the public can go to the on which Members of both Houses serve. They are public galleries overlooking the Chamber, as well as appointed by the Speaker and the House Committee of attend any committee of the House which is sitting in the House of Lords to make recommendations to the public. They supervise the Admission Order Office which Speaker and the on the security of the manages the provision of tickets for guests and visitors to Parliamentary Estate. An executive Parliamentary Security the galleries of the House of Commons. Director was appointed by both Houses in 2012, to have The Serjeant also controls access to the Parliamentary overall responsibility for the strategy, planning and delivery Press Gallery – both for those broadcasters and journalists of security across Parliament. The Serjeant remains who work from offices in the Palace of Westminster and responsible for day to day operational security. for those who are not pass holders but who apply in order The Joint Committee superintends the work of to report matters of specific interest. Parliamentary Security Director. He controls Parliament’s contract with the Metropolitan Police Service and acts as the principal interlocutor with external Security 35 intelligence communities. Chief Superintendent Ed Bateman, of the Metropolitan Police Service gave a presentation to the Serjeants A recent incident at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa Conference in 2009, noting the serious threat to the UK brings home the constant vigilance required to protect Parliament over the last century: lives on the parliamentary estate. The Canadian Serjeant at Arms, Kevin Vickers, shot a gunman on 22 October 2014, who shot and killed a soldier at the perimeter of the building before making his way into the Parliamentary precincts.36

35 House of Lords Debates 28 November 2011: Colum WS10 36 Guardian 22 October 2014 “Serjeant at Arms hailed as hero shows his role is not just ceremonial” SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

41. Westminster Hall on Fire 1834. George Bryant Campion’s watercolour shows the interior of Westminster Hall during the fire that destroyed Parliament in 1834.

Historical Duties of the Serjeant Elizabeth Wright, the deputy house-keeper, first The Serjeant’s work grew in importance as the meeting raised the alarm after seeking smoke and feeling of Parliament became more regular and more lengthy. the heat whilst in the chamber with some visitors.37 This section looks at some of the roles undertaken by the The fire quickly swept through the entire Palace Serjeant’s Department in the last hundred years or so. and destroyed many of its buildings. Turner Traditionally the Speaker employed or was responsible and Constable witnessed the fire, along with for many housekeeping staff, who would help run the thousands of other sightseers – it was the largest Commons. An Act of 1812 prohibited the Serjeant conflagration in London apart from the Great from appointing somebody other than himself to act as Housekeeper. Fire of 1666 and the Blitz in the Second World War. Westminster Hall was saved, and the wind On 16 October 1834, a chimney fire had was blowing away from the Jewel Tower, which smouldered under the floor of the House of Lords preserved the historic records stored inside it. chamber, caused by the unsupervised and ill- advised burning of two large cartloads of wooden tally sticks (a form of medieval tax receipt created by the Exchequer, a government office based at Westminster) in the heating furnaces below. 37 Parliamentary Education Service Fact File Fire of 1834 53

42. Filming Suffragette in the Central Lobby of the Houses of Parliament, 8 April 2014.

The Serjeant lost responsibility, exercised by the Deputy the House of Commons and the House of Lords. IT Housekeeper, for refreshments after the fire of 1834. services have become increasingly complex and essential Before that he was responsible – through his Deputy to the working of Parliament, so a separate department Housekeeper – for providing refreshments for Members. serving both Houses was established in 2005 and given The Bellamy family held this post at a modest profit for a a statutory basis by the Parliament ( Joint Departments) number of years: They did not escape criticism but they Act 2007. This was known initially as the Parliamentary attained everlasting fame with the dying Pitt’s request Information and Technology Service (PICT) but in 2015 for one of Bellamy’s veal pies. After 1848, Members it was renamed the Parliamentary Digital Service. decided to run the catering themselves, and the House A visitor manager and staff were appointed in 2000 and of Commons Commission continues to hold ultimate managed within the Serjeant’s Department. They were responsibility for the service. responsible for the booking and management of Members’ The Serjeant had no formal responsibility for Westminster tours and tours for the public during the annual Summer as a royal palace, but had an important liaison role as Opening. Demand for tours has grown and the service is the new palace was rebuilt and additions made in the now managed by the Department for Information Services. twentieth century. After the rebuilding of the Palace Income generation is another consideration and the Palace following the Second World War, building works were of Westminster is occasionally used as a film set. Other organised by Government departments and agencies. In film crews, for example the crew who provided the footage 1992 the Parliamentary Estate began to be maintained for Michael Cockerell’s documentary series “Inside the by the Parliamentary Works Directorate of the Serjeant Commons”, may also be given permission to film on the at Arms department. Following a later administrative estate. The Serjeant has a role in overseeing the practical reorganisation, a new Department of Facilities separate arrangements for filming. The Serjeant’s office oversees from the Serjeant at Arms was made responsible for the the exercise of the rule on taking photographs in the estate. Parliamentary Estate. New services often start under the Serjeant’s control In 2013, the Serjeant advised the Administration but are later established on their own. In 1996 the Committee to pilot the use of the House as a film location. Serjeant took over responsibility for Parliamentary In March 2014 the film Suffragettes was partly filmed in Communications Directorate with a staff of some twenty the House of Commons. and with the responsibility for operation and development of the Parliamentary Data and Video Network for both SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

State and ceremonial funerals The practical organisation of state and ceremonial funerals is the responsibility of the Earl Marshall and the College of Arms, although the Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod, together with the police play a key role. The Lord Great Chamberlain (on behalf of the Queen) and the Lord Speaker and the Speaker (on behalf of the two Houses) share responsibility for Westminster Hall. Black Rod, as Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain, is responsible for and participates in major ceremonial events in the Palace of Westminster. Westminster Hall events are organised by Black Rod together with the Commons’ Serjeant-at-Arms. 43. Queen Mary’s Lying in State, 1953. The most recent coffin lying in state in Westminster Hall was after the death of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 2002. The coffin of the former Prime Minister, Lady Thatcher, lay in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft for MPs and staff to pay their respects in 2013. The coffin of the distinguished parliamentarian also lay overnight in St Stephen’s Chapel in March 2014. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died on 30 March 2002. The House observed a minute’s silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on its recall on 3 April 2002. Tributes were then paid in the debate on a motion to present an humble Address.38

She lay in state for three days in Westminster Hall where people could visit before her funeral in on 9 April 2002. During the lying-in-state period, the coffin rests on a raised platform in the middle of Westminster Hall. Each corner of the platform is guarded around the clock by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, 44. Lying in State of King George VI in Westminster Hall, 1952. Foot Guards or the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

An estimated 200,000 people paid their respects to the Queen Mother, by filing past the coffin. This represented a challenge in policing such vast crowds.

38 House of Commons Debates 3 April 2002 c799 55

Addresses to both Houses by visiting statespeople take place in Westminster Hall and other locations. Nelson Mandela, François Mitterand, Mikhail Gorbachev, Barack Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Pope are among those who have all given addresses to MPs and members of the Lords. The Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, gave an address to members of both Houses of Parliament on 13 June 2013 in the Queen’s Robing Room. He was the first Canadian prime minister to address UK parliamentarians in the Palace of Westminster since William Lyon Mackenzie King on May 11, 1944.39

45. State Visit: Barack Obama, President of the United States, Lawrence Ward, Serjeant at Arms, May 2011.

46. Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Parliament in June 2012: Aung San Suu Kyi enters Westminster Hall (Lawrence Ward, Serjeant at Arms pictured too) accompanied by Mr. Speaker and the Lord Speaker, 21 June 2012.

39 Parliamentary website Addresses to both Houses SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Chapter Six The wider Commonwealth family The UK Parliament has long had an interest in developing More local gatherings take place within the three contacts across the Commonwealth and the wider Commonwealth regions: Africa, Canada and the parliamentary world. The Serjeants or security directors Caribbean, and Pan Pacific. Host countries are kind of Parliaments around the globe have much to gain enough to invite the Serjeants to attend and participate in from knowledge-sharing and evaluation of new methods these conferences. The Canadian Association of Sergeants of working. at Arms holds a conference each year in Canada and the The majority of formal networking takes place within ANZACATT Professional Development Seminars are the countries of the Commonwealth, Those relationships held in Australia. began to develop in the early 1980s when the Serjeants One of the most constructive elements to emerge from the at Westminster were asked to take part in the annual Association is the assistance that the older Commonwealth conferences of the Canadian Association of Sergeants countries can offer to those with emerging and developing at Arms. Those visits were followed by an invitation to parliaments and legislatures. A system of attachments is the Canadian Sergeants to come to London and soon available so that individual Serjeants or members of their other Commonwealth countries were invited to take part staff can spend a period of time with another Parliament in what has now become the Commonwealth Serjeants in order to gain information on matters such as procedure, at Arms Professional Development Conference, held at security systems, IS/IT and ceremonial. These visits not Westminster every five years. The first was held in 1994. only provide knowledge and experience but bring about A special conference to mark 600 years of the role is being individual relationships which add much to the strength held in July 2015. and cohesion of the Association of Commonwealth The Commonwealth Serjeants at Arms Conference 2009 Serjeants at Arms. was designed with a very firm bias towards discussion of the wider security challenges facing those who work in Parliaments across the Commonwealth.

47. Canadian Association of Sergeant at Arms meeting, Halifax NS, August 2013. The Serjeants from the UK, Maldives and South Africa were also present. 57

Commonwealth challenges On 4 December 2014 The Speaker in the Australian House of Representatives ordered 18 Members to leave during question time sitting Standing Order 94A, which required their removal for one hour. This procedure has been in force since 1994. The decision cannot be debated, and if Members do not leave immediately, or dissent from the ruling, they can be suspended for up to seven days. There is a culture of robust debate in Australia, which brings challenges of enforcement. Other Commonwealth Parliaments have struggled with the question of the enforcement of order. India has a tradition of exuberant protest in and around the Chamber, as well as serious parliamentary disorder and disruption. There is no office of Serjeant at Arms in India, but there a bi-cameral security service.

Extracts from Guide to Parliamentary Decorum and Etiquette for Lok Sabha India Members are forbidden to raise slogans, wear badges, display flags, emblems, exhibits, arms and ammunition in the House. Members are prohibited from knitting inside the chamber.

A Member is not to resort to hunger strike or any demonstration or fast or perform any religious function in the precincts of Parliament House. 48. The Serjeant, Deputy Serjeant and Associate Serjeants at Arms, March 2015. Members should not come to the pit of the House as a measure of protest.40

In New Zealand, David Shearer then Leader of the Opposition, has held up dead fish in the Chamber as a visual aid.41 Serjeants have to be aware of the need to act quickly in response to similar stunts which might lead to scenes of disorder.

40 Lok Sabha Parliamentary Decorum and Etiquette 41 “Shearer uses fishy props in snapper debate” 20 August 2013 New Zealand Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_ id=1&objectid=11111579 SERJEANT FOR THE COMMONS

Appendix Serjeants at Arms for the House of Commons 1415-2015 ______

1415-1420 Nicholas Maudit 1762 Nicholas Bonfoy 1420-1461 Not known 1775 Edward Colman 1461 John Bury 1805 Francis John Colman 1471 Maurice Gethyn 1812 Henry Seymour 1471 Robert Siddale 1835 Sir William Gossett 1472 Nicolas Brytte 1845 Lord Charles Russell 1485 John Harper 1875 Sir Ralph Gossett 1517 John Smythe 1885 Sir David Erskine 1533 John St John 1915 Sir Colin Keppel 1555 Thomas Hale 1935 Sir Charles Howard 1576 Ralph Bowyer 1957 Ivor Hughes 1590 Roger Wood 1962 Sir Alexander Gordon Lennox 1610 Edward Grimstone 1976 Sir Peter Thorne 1640 John Hunt 1982 Sir Victor Le Fanu 1646 Edward Birkhead 1989 Sir Alan Urwick 1660 Sir James Northfolk 1995 Sir Peter Jennings 1675 Sir William Bishop 2000 Sir Michael Cummins 1709 Thomas Wybergh 2005 Peter Grant Peterkin 1717 Thomas Spence 2008 Jill Pay 1737 Wentworth Odiarne 2012 Lawrence Ward The Serjeant at Arms is the focus of attention in the Speaker’s procession at the start of each sitting day because he or she carries the great silver-gilt Mace that is the symbol of the Royal authority delegated to the House of Commons. But their duties extend well beyond the ceremonial. This book describes both the history and work of the Serjeant, from the appointment of the first holder of the office nearly six centuries ago to the present day.

ISBN 978-0-9576685-3-9

9 780957 668539 £9.99