Westminster staff make 2,000 calls to Speaking Clock

They work in the shadow of Big Ben and their mobile phones tell the time. But...

TIME is money – but the old saying seems to be news to MPs, peers and staff at the Houses of Parliament who are still calling the Speaking Clock.

Although they are working in the shadow of Big Ben, the world’s most famous clock, and will almost certainly carry a mobile phone that shows the time accurately, many continue to dial 123 – at a cost of 50p per minute.

There were a total of 517 calls made to the BT service between February 2018 and February 2021, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The duration and cost to taxpayers was not divulged, but the expense is likely to be in excess of £250.

Although renovation work has left Big Ben largely hidden behind scaffolding for four years, since 2015 there have been more than 2,000 calls to the service, most of them when the famous clock was clearly visible.

A previous Freedom of Information request showed that there were 684

‘Now Ministers must call time on this expenditure’

calls in 2015 costing £360.83 and 1,011 in 2016 costing £535.83 – before VAT is added.

The number of times the clock was called in 2017 isn’t known, but the totals that have been disclosed since 2015 is 2,212.

Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager for the Tax-Payers’ Alliance, told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘The amount of money involved may be small in the scheme of things, but it shows a disgraceful attitude towards public money.

‘Ministers must immediately call time on this expenditure.’

Westminster officials were asked how many registered calls there had been to the Speaking Clock from the parliamentary network, including the Lords, Commons and administration staff.

A spokesman said: ‘Clock engineers wind the clock in the Elizabeth Tower several times per week and check its accuracy against the Speaking Clock and the twice-yearly clock change also uses the Speaking Clock.

‘These calls are included in the numbers given.’

The Metropolitan Police came under fire in 2012 after staff were found to have spent a total of £35,000 making 110,000 calls to the Speaking Clock over a twoyear period.

Other regional police forces also called the service, with Devon and Cornwall Police admitting it used the Speaking Clock to ‘synchronise its telecoms systems’.