The ex-politician said she thought it was now time to restrict the sale of alcohol on the parliamentary estate to combat the “old school drinking culture” that still exists.
Strangers’ Bar closed from Monday after Scotland Yard received reports of an incident on January 7.
A woman, a parliamentary researcher, alerted security and staff in Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar to her drink having been tampered with, according to Politico, which first reported the incident.
Ms Bardell said: “I know of at least one other woman when I was an MP who told me about a terrifying experience where a person spiked her drink.
“The fact we are still hearing incidents like this happening to women is horrific. House [of Commons] authorities have said they want to change things and clean up parliament but we are not seeing that.”
No arrests have been made, but reports over the weekend suggested an MP is suspected of administering the substance into the young woman’s drink.
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It is not yet clear when the bar, which is open to MPs and their guests as well as parliamentary staff, will be opened.
The UK Parliament will not be launching its own investigation but said it will assist police where they can.
A House of Commons spokesperson told The Herald the “safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority of both Houses.”
Michelle Thomson, the SNP MSP for Falkirk East, and a former MP for Edinburgh West, described the recent incident as “absolutely shocking” and told The Herald it points to a “cultural problem” in Westminster.
Ms Thomson said: “I should not be surprised that issues which are so prevalent in wider society also occurred in Westminster, but I am shocked.
“This comes on top of a number of serious sexual assault complaints in the last Parliament.
“It seems clear that Westminster has a cultural issue.”
Ms Thomson, who served as an MP from 2015-2017, said she was never uncomfortable in Strangers’ Bar.
However, she said another Commons bar, the Sports and Social Club Bar, is “one place she would never go”.
“It felt like a student union on a Friday night,” Ms Thomson said. “Lots of young men, shouting, drinking, leering, making jokes that only they found funny. Not a safe place.”
This bar has since been refurbished and renamed The Woolsack, following a series of fights and other misconduct scandals which took place there.
Ms Thomson has previously used her platform in politics to speak about a serious incident of sexual assault against her.
Sitting as an MP for Edinburgh West over eight years ago, Ms Thomson described the impact of being raped at 14 during a House of Commons debate.
“I learned early on in my life to be wary of men,” Ms Thomson said. “But I think my wariness is felt by the vast majority of women. To be able to feel safe in a public social environment should be the norm but too often is the exception.
“Add this mix to a culture of power dynamics and it becomes more pervasive. Most women I knew simply chose to exclude themselves from that sort of environment.”
Former Livingston MP, Ms Bardell is calling for the Parliament to restrict the sale of alcohol to “after hours”, specifying that people should only be able to buy booze from 6pm onwards.
At the moment, Strangers Bar is open for service from 12:30 pm most days.
Speaking about the availability of drink at Westminster, Ms Bardell added: “This is a hangover of a bygone era and it makes young woman in particular feel more vulnerable.
“In a place where laws of the land have been made, there’s still this old school drinking culture and it’s very concerning.”
The former MP said that if alcohol sales were restricted it could prevent instances of predatory behaviour and may lead to parliamentary business going through more quickly as people would not be “sitting around in the bar”.
“Parliament needs to drag itself out of the dark ages. It’s not a modern workplace and it makes voters lose faith if they know politicians can drink at all hours of the day,” Ms Bardell added.
