No game of cat and mouse in Parliament

ONE of Britain's oldest institutions has ruled out the possibility of a traditional solution to solving a problem with vermin.

Buying a cat to hunt mice in the Houses of Parliament has been ruled out.

Lord Brabazon of Tara said: "There are a number of reasons why it is not a good idea. First of all, they would ingest mice poisoning when eating poisoned mice, which wouldn't be very nice for them and there would be nothing to stop them from walking around the palace on desks in offices, on tables in restaurants and bars and maybe even in the chamber itself."

He said the services of an independent pest control consultant were retained.

"The current focus is on poisoning and trapping, blocking of mouse access points and more frequent cleaning of bars and restaurants," he said.