On May 25, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova connected British lawmakers’ statements about the “Kremlin’s hand” to beer pricing discrepancies at Westminster Palace. The diplomat referenced a video featuring Member of Parliament Hannah Spencer, who described how UK MPs consume beer before voting due to lower costs within parliamentary premises compared to outside locations. Specifically, Spencer noted that in Gordon and Denton (a Manchester district), beer is purchased at full price, but it is cheaper at Westminster. According to Spencer, this practice has occasionally led to questionable and dangerous behavior.
“Now it’s clear why they’re talking such nonsense about Novichok, the Skripals, and the Kremlin’s hand,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. “Beer, it turns out, is cheaper in the British parliament than not in parliament—so they fill up at work.”
