Priti Patel spotted marshalling queues to see Queen lying in state

The former home secretary was seen volunteering in a blue high-vis jacket as thousands lined up to pay their respects.

Priti Patel and Andrew Stephenson were among the volunteers marshalling the queue of mourners paying their respects to the Queen. (Dan Barker/PA)

Former home secretary Priti Patel was spotted filling in as a volunteer marshal for those queuing to pay their respects to the Queen.

Several photos posted on social media showed Mrs Patel in a blue high-vis jacket alongside fellow Conservative MP Andrew Stephenson on the final day of the monarch’s lying in state.

Many stopped to take photos with the politician as they queued along the Thames near Blackfriars Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Among them was consultant Dan Barker, who was walking beside the queue with his wife when he spotted the pair near the Oxo Tower.

“I realised I recognised a couple of the marshals up ahead – one was Conservative MP Andrew Stephenson; the other was Priti Patel, both dressed in the same blue tunics worn by the many marshals along the route.

“At that point nobody else seemed to have recognised them,” he added.

Queues to see the Queen’s coffin at the Palace of Westminster reached up to 24 hours at some points, with the line stretching five miles to Southwark Park.

It was closed to the public on Monday morning ahead of her state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Mrs Patel was Home Secretary from July 2019 until earlier this month, when she was replaced by Suella Braverman as part of PM Liz Truss’ first cabinet.