Home Secretary Priti Patel's chief of staff 'escorted from Parliament bar by police'

Home Secretary Priti Patel's most senior aide had to be escorted from a Commons bar by armed police.



James Starkie, who is Ms Patel's chief of staff, had got involved in an altercation with Tory MP Bob Stewart in Strangers.

He is said to have sworn and punched a door before being asked to leave the popular drinking den.

A House of Commons spokesperson said: "We can confirm there was an incident with an individual in Strangers’ Bar.

"The individual was asked to leave and was escorted from the estate by parliamentary security."

The incident is deeply embarrassing for the Conservatives, who want to persuade voters that they are the party of law and order at the next election.

Mr Starkie was a member of the Vote Leave campaign before becoming a special adviser for Michael Gove.

However, he resigned from that post in protest at Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Mr Starkie later worked on Dominic Raab's Conservative leadership campaign before taking up his role in the Home Office.

It is not the first time Ms Patel has been left embarrassed over an incident involving police.

At the Conservative conference, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP was asked to leave after police were called to deal with an incident after a friend of his was refused entry to a reception.

The incident took place as Ms Patel was preparing to set out the party's anti-crime credentials in her keynote speech.