Of mice & moths: UK House’s battle against vermin

Members of Parliament are grappling with an intractable problem that's infected the fabric of British political life, and has no end in sight. For once, it's not Brexit.
Mice in the Palace of Westminster are so brazen that they scamper over desks in broad daylight, frequent the site's many cafes and bars and make nests out of old paperwork. The problem has persisted for years, despite authorities spending more than £500,000 to contain it.
"Almost everyone has seen them scampering around and having discos," said Thangam Debbonaire, a Labour MP. She recounts seeing a rodent in a House of Commons cafe while entertaining a guest last month.
"Whilst we were eating our cake, a mouse ran over my foot and then just sat there nibbling crumbs. It wasn't intimidated," she said. "The next day I took another guest to a different cafe and again, there was a mouse there in the middle of the day." Debbonaire's not alone. Conservative lawmakers Andrew Bowie and Robert Halfon both said they had mice run over their feet while frequenting Parliament's numerous eateries.
It isn't just mice that need to be controlled: moths threaten to ruin upholstery on antique furniture and historic carpets created by AW Pugin, a 19th-century designer. An infestation last year led Richard Gilbey, known as Lord Vaux of Harrowden, to lament in the House of Lords: "I worry that if I sit still for too long in this Chamber, I will stand up to discover that my clothes have been turned to lace."
The House of Commons said in an emailed statement that the proximity of Parliament to the River Thames makes if "particularly vulnerable to pests, especially to mice," a problem made worse in recent years by building work.