Evidence of cocaine use has been found inside  toilets at the Houses of Parliament, including some just yards from MPs’ offices.

Traces of the class A drug were found in nine  toilets throughout the Palace Of Westminster, the meeting place of the UK’s political elite.

The powder was detected in toilets used by guests at Parliament’s bars, as well as cubicles a few yards away from MPs’ offices – areas where members of the public are restricted from going.

Not to be sniffed at: Evidence of cocaine use has been  uncovered at the Houses of Parliament

Charlie: Possession of cocaine can get you up to seven  years in jail. File picture

The drug use was uncovered using cocaine  indicator swabs, which come up with blue blotches when rubbed on surfaces where  the drug has been laid out in lines, such as toilet seats and hairdryers. The  swabs are used by the police and customs officers.

As Parliament’s toilets are cleaned  regularly, the white powder must have been snorted in the past few hours,  according to reporters from The Sun,  who did the testing.

Users would have to smuggle the drug past extensive security checks and 500 police officers and guards.

The reporters, acting on a tip-off from a  House of Commons insider, claim to have found evidence of the drug in the  cubicles of the toilets outside Strangers’ Bar and in private areas close to  MPs’ offices.

High office: The cocaine use was uncovered using test  kits, similar to the one pictured

Tory MP Douglas Carswell was scathing about  the find.

He said: ‘With decadence comes something  rotten. It suggests there is something rotten about the institution  itself.’

On two occasions cannabis has been  confiscated at Westminster’s entry checkpoints since the start of 2008,  according to a Freedom of Information request.

A Parliamentary spokesman said: ‘Parliament  is a public place and we welcome over a million visitors a year who have either  direct access to these facilities or access when accompanied.

‘Clearly, it is inappropriate to monitor what  happens in toilet facilities. In addition, we have issued over 14,000 passes,  held by contractors and other third parties, as well as staff of both Houses,  Members and their staff.

‘Consequently, it is impossible to know who  may be involved. Our security searches are focussed on preventing harm to others  and the building, not the detection of small amounts of drugs.

‘Parliament takes the issue of substance  misuse very seriously and offers a range of welfare and health support services  for those who need them.’

A few days ago a Parliamentary watchdog said  MPs should have an 11 per cent pay rise to £74,000 a year.

In 2005 a German television station found  traces of cocaine in 41 of 46 lavatories tested at the European Parliament in  Brussels.

Read more: DailyMail