Jill Pay (born 10 May 1951) is a retired official of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. She was
Serjeant at Arms
A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...
in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. Pay is the first woman to have held the position.
Her appointment was unusual in that the position had hitherto normally been reserved for those with a military background. Pay's position conferred responsibility for security in the House of Commons. She retired on 31 January 2012.
Career
Pay replaced Major General
Peter Grant Peterkin
Major-General Anthony Peter Grant Peterkin (born 6 July 1947) is a retired senior British Army officer. He was the British House of Commons' Serjeant at Arms between 2004 and 2007.
Early life
Grant Peterkin was born on 6 July 1947. He is the s ...
as
Serjeant at Arms
A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...
in 2008. She had previously worked as a business manager in the civil service. She was appointed Head Office Keeper in the House of Commons Service in 1994. She was appointed Deputy Serjeant at Arms in 2004.
Before she assumed the role of Serjeant at Arms, the role of the Serjeant in the House of Commons Service had been downgraded through organisational restructuring, something with which the Queen was said to be unhappy, since the position is a Crown appointment. Jill Pay was not granted the traditional audience with the monarch.
Damian Green search
In 2008, Pay became embroiled in political controversy when it was revealed she was the official who had consented to a police search on
Damian Green
Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the Second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he has b ...
's Commons office.
There was some suggestion that Pay was made a
scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
in order to protect the reputation of the then Commons Speaker
Michael Martin.
After being Serjeant at Arms
Since being the Serjeant at Arms, Pay has worked with charities to promote various causes; notably, women's entrepreneurship with the
Pink Shoe Club and children's literacy with Coram Beanstalk. She has recently worked on the Women and Enterprise All Party Parliamentary Group report on women's enterprise.
See also
*
Black Rod
*
Serjeant at Arms of the British House of Commons
The Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons is a parliamentary official responsible for order in the House of Commons. The office dates to 1415 and traditionally included responsibility for security. The role is now mainly ceremonial.
The Hou ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pay, Jill
1951 births
Living people
Serjeants-at-Arms of the British House of Commons
British civil servants