Chris Rust

Image credit: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

But fast forward 12 years, and the former law student is now Deputy Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons – a role that has put him at the center of some of the country’s biggest political and social moments in recent history.

Keele graduate Chris was responsible for the operational management at Westminster Hall when more than 250,000 people saw Queen Elizabeth II lying in state, and personally welcomed over 100 world leaders during the four days who had travelled to pay their respects. And when Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, delivered a historic address to Parliament in Westminster Hall following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Chris had a front row seat.

The Serjeant at Arms is responsible for the order and security of the House of Commons including maintaining order in the chamber, galleries and committee rooms of the House and controlling access to the parliamentary estate. As Deputy Serjeant, Chris will sit in the Commons Chamber while it is in session and is responsible for order and access for the duration of the sitting. Ceremonial duties involve carrying the House of Commons mace during the Speaker's procession, which Chris does regularly. The office of Serjeant at Arms dates back to 1415.

Chris, who has been in the post since 2018, was Acting Serjeant at Arms during the unlawful prorogation of Parliament in 2019 and the Queen’s speech later that year.

He said: “When we are in the Chamber, we are basically stage managers for a live broadcast. We will get involved if there are any building problems, or if there is disorder and an MP is ordered to leave the Chamber by the Speaker, it is our job to ensure they do. We will then invite the MP into our office and have a conversation with them on why they need to comply with the rules. There’s a lot of forward planning involved in the role, where we look at any potentially contentious debates that are coming up and consider what issues might arise from them.

“When I was studying law at Keele I was convinced I wanted to be a barrister or work in the legal profession. In my second year I needed a part-time job to earn some money and I applied for a position at the Students’ Union to work as a steward at the events they put on. Through that role opportunities came up to do security training and work at music festivals in the summer, like Leeds and Glastonbury, which I did, and I realised it was soon becoming a bit of a passion.”

Chris left Keele in 2012 and headed to London, where he worked as a Duty Security Manager at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. After that, he worked as a manager for a large security company before landing a role as Security Operations Manager for Parliament in 2016, which included overseeing the response to the terrorist attack near the Houses of Parliament in 2017.

He said: “I had a clear career path with my degree at university but then opportunities started to come up through working at the Students’ Union on the campus. Getting that job at the union set me off on a completely different path which took me to overseeing security at Parliament and now in my current role as Deputy Serjeant at Arms. I think it shows it’s important not to have tunnel vision, and to keep yourself open to trying different things when you’re at university.

“The terrorist attack was one of the most challenging and difficult days I’ve faced, and we were working in tragic circumstances, but I learnt a lot about myself from it. I love the job I am in now and the variety that comes with it, and the fact you get one of the best seats in the House of Commons is a bonus.