Call for cat at 'mouses of Parliament

The Commons mice are on the move again, the latest plague appearing to have manifested itself in the members' dining areas.

During questions on future business, Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry (Con) said the mice had appeared in the members dining rooms and called for a feline friend to tackle the problem

He asked for a debate as to whether "a tough Lancastrian cat could be obtained from Bleakholt animal sanctuary in Rossendale to repel those rodent invaders".

The Commons leader Sir George Young replied that it is i"ndeed the case that mice are seen on the parliamentary estate".

He said: "I have actually seen an hon. Member feeding the rodents out of kindness."

Sir George said he would pursue the case with the parliamentary authorities and thanked the MP for the "generous offer" he made of a cat.

He added: "There might be even more cost-effective ways of dealing with the mice than a Lancastrian cat."

In March, during a debate in the House of Lords, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, vice chair of the parliamentary allergy group, called for the introduction of "hypoallergenic cats" to deal with the mice.

Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have shown that a monthly graph is kept of mouse sightings in the Palace of Westminster.