The men in tights who guard Britain’s Parliament are led by the Serjeant-at-Arms, an official whose wide-ranging duties cover everything from bomb-proof screens to flowerbeds.
Parliament’s army of cleaners is under his command, as is the task of allocating office space to MPs, responsibility for building works, computer systems and the parliamentary postal service - and control of the 33 black-clad doorkeepers who patrol the entrances and corridors of the Commons.
Backing up the Serjeant and the doorkeepers - all former Armed Forces personnel, male and female - is the Metropolitan Police, which provides police officers to act as security guards under a contract with the Serjeant.
But Sir John Stevens, the Met Commissioner, revealed today that there are limits to what police can do inside the Commons that may hamper their effectiveness.
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”The contract states that police officers cannot go into the Chamber without express permission and direction of the Serjeant-at-Arms,” said Sir John.
“Perhaps this is something we need to revisit.
“Police officers within the Palace of Westminster are not under the control of the Commissioner. They are under the direction of the Serjeant-at-Arms.”
The title of Serjeant-at-Arms dates back to 1279, when Edward I recruited 20 gentlemen to be his bodyguards. Each was armed with an ornate battle mace.
Later their number was increased to 30, and in 1415 one of the bodyguard was appointed to attend on the Speaker as Serjeant-at-Arms for the House of Commons.
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Today’s Serjeant performs several ceremonial duties dating back to the early days of the office, carrying his mace in the Speaker’s Procession each day. He wears a sword on his hip - the only person in Parliament allowed to wear one - as a further symbol of authority and power. He also parades, fully armed, into the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament.
By centuries-old tradition, the holder of the title comes from a military background. Sir Michael Cummins, the current incumbent, is due to be replaced in December by Major General Anthony Peterkin CB OBE, 57, who has served in the Army for 30 years and whose last job was as chief executive of the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow.
Britain has bequeathed the title and role of Serjeant-at-Arms to parliamentary democracies in its former protectorates all over the world, including the US Senate and the assemblies of various US states as well as to the parliaments of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Zimbabwe.
Peter Hain, the leader of the Commons, suggested that such arrangements for Parliamentary security were out-of-date and needed to be put in the hands of professionals.
“The blunt truth is that the House of Commons is operating as if in a bygone age,” said Mr Hain.
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“This is the age of the suicide terrorist and our security arrangements are antiquated. The House must now act urgently together with the House of Lords, and appoint a director of security with operational authority, working directly to the Security Services and the Metropolitan Police - albeit ultimately accountable both to the Speaker and to the Lords’ chairman of committees.”
While the role of Serjeant may survive for centuries to come as a chief housekeeper for Parliament, it seems likely that its responsibilty for security will be allocated to others.