UK Lords reject Champagne budget cut

Peers in the House of Lords rejected a catering budget cut because they feared being forced to drink inferior Champagne, a parliamentary insider has revealed.

The House of Lords has long-had a separate catering budget to MPs in the House of Commons – a budget that has seen them enjoy 17,000 bottles of top Champagne over the last five years at prices between £27 and £34 per bottle.

But The Daily Mirror reports that a cost-saving plan which would have seen the two parliamentary Houses combine food and wine accounts was rejected by peers out of fear they would be forced to drink inferior Champagne brands.

The refusal was revealed by Sir Malcolm Jack, clerk of Commons between 2006 and 2011, as he gave….