STEVE Barclay turned his efforts towards pulling pints this week after a stint as a barman at Wisbech’s Red Lion.

The North East Cambs MP, usually more comfortable on the green benches of the House of Commons or grilling chief executives on the Public Accounts Committee, went out of his comfort zone to do the busy Saturday lunchtime shift at the North Brink venue.

But the Conservative showed that should he ever find himself out of a job in politics he could quite easily turn his hand to bar work, after skilfully adapting to the demands of the job and showing that he could make a fine landlord.

“He did brilliantly,” said landlady Maggie Tuck, who believed Mr Barclay passed the barman test with flying colours.

“He got to see the locals that come in here and it was a good way for him to interact with people that he wouldn’t usually meet.”

Ms Tuck admitted she had wondered how Mr Barclay would cope with the challenging task of dealing with customers - but remarked: “He probably knows how demanding the public are.”

He got involved as part of an initiative promoted by the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group to encourage MPs to get a taste for life on the other side of the bar.

Elgood’s managing director Belinda Sutton said: “We are very pleased that Steve is supporting us in this way.”