Jill Pay, the Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, has announced she is to retire after 17 years working in Parliament.
In her letter to the Speaker, Ms. Pay said she had taken the decision "after careful consideration", and would leave her job in January.
The anicent job of Serjeant-at-Arms is to stop physical fights breaking out within the House of Commons, but its real function is to deal with security matters throughout the building. Although the job appears arachaic - complete with ceremonial clothes and a sword - the job often finds itself under scrutiny when there are lapses of security in Parliament.
The most recent example of this was the attack on Rupert Murdoch during his appearance before the Culture Committee in July, when a man was able to get a foam pie past security.
Following the incident an internal review was announced, due to report back in the coming months. The attack on Rupert Murdoch - commonly referred to as 'Piegate' led to incredibly tight security at subsequent committee meetings involving anyone who'd worked at News International.
Perhaps more scandalous - at least for those working in Parliament - was the raid by police on the Parliamentary offices of Damian Green in 2008, which prompted a series of questions for both the Serjeant-at-Arms and the then-Speaker of the Commons, Michael Martin. This incident occurred less than a year into the current Serjeant's tenure. Almost a year later the Serjeant apologised for allowing the police to search Parliament without informing the Clerk of the House of Commons.
In response to her resignation letter, the Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow, said:
"You were the first woman to be Serjeant in nearly six centuries of that office, something of great significance both here and more widely."