MPs fight back in battle of the booze

Some reporters claim to have inside information and insist that far from being subsidised, the bar makes a profit.

As this would suggest hacks drink a lot, I don't know which version paints us in a worse light.

Why we have a bar at all, I have no idea. However, there are bars all over the Commons. The main advantage from the point of view of the politicians is probably that it keeps the media out of the watering holes they tend to use.

The motion has been signed by ten MPs, including Birmingham's Lynne Jones (Lab Selly Oak).

The full text is: "This House notes recent media commentary on the rolling programme of maintenance involving the Speaker's rooms; notes that £8.2 million has been spent on the renovation of the Press Gallery; also notes that the media pays nothing for the use of the premises, nor for London telephone calls; is bemused that 10 male members of the lobby have a car parking pass for the Palace of Westminster; is conscious of the annual subsidy to the Press Bar of £210,000; and therefore calls upon members of the Press Gallery to apply to themselves the same standards that they would demand of others."