A LEGENDARY political correspondent has had a new bar in the House of Commons named after him.

Veteran journalist Chris Moncrieff, CBE, has worked as a political editor and parliamentary correspondent for the Press Association (PA) news agency for 46 years.

Mr Moncrieff, 76, of Hale End Road, Highams Park, continues to work despite being officially retired, and has been honoured by prime ministers and parliamentarians alike for his straight and unbiased style of reporting.

At the launch of Parliament's new £8m press bar, Moncrieff's, the speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin MP, called him "the most respected member of the Press Gallery".

And in his thank you speech, Mr Moncrieff, who has not touched alcohol for more than a quarter of a century, talked about the days when he was a regular customer of the old Press Gallery bar.

On one occasion, he said, a Welsh colleague had become so overcome with patriotism that he devoured an entire bunch of daffodils. And another time he and his colleagues were too "pie eyed" from alcohol to notice someone steal an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica from the room.

Michael White, political editor of the Guardian, was among the journalists at the launch who paid tribute to Mr Moncrieff.

He said: "I have known Moncrieff for over 30 years and he hasn't changed a bit. Except that he used to drink a lot, and then he stopped.

"My friend Simon Hoggart (political sketch writer for the Guardian) was once driving down the Santa Monica freeway in LA and heard a news report on local radio saying, 'and in London England, lawmakers have attacked premier Margaret Thatcher' and he read out a list of Moncrieff's best contacts.

"Legend has it that one Tory MP trusted Moncrieff so much that he gave him permission to make up the necessary quotes, saying 'you know my views'.

"Chris was always liked and trusted by politicians on all sides. I admire him."