Penny-pinching MPs swoop on Queen in bills-slashing drive

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Members of the all-party Commons public accounts committee are due to tour Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and St James's Palace next Thursday as part of an inquiry into the cost of their upkeep.

They will question Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen, and other senior officials of the Royal Household, the following Monday. Many MPs on the committee believe savings can be made in maintenance works at the historic buildings as millions of families across Britain tighten their belts.

Conservative MP Richard Bacon said: "Everyone is going to have to cut their cloth and I'm sure that applies to the management of the Royal Household."

But he also called for the Government to "swipe" less of the income from the Crown Estate and for some of this revenue to be put towards maintaining the buildings.

The Queen recently slashed her phone bill by a fifth.