The Latest Breaking News from the Palace of Westminster

Home of UK parliament spends £1.5m a week on repairs but critics say restoration proposals lack accountability

Footage shows police and fire brigade responding for over eight hours to an incident at the Palace of Westminster where a man climbed the Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, while holding a Palestinian flag. (8 March)

Bob Stewart will no longer be able to visit the Palace of Westminster using a former members’ pass.

Scotland Yard said it had received reports of the incident in the Palace of Westminster at around 6.30pm on January 7.

Exclusive: The massive turnover of MPs and their staff at the general election means many of those working on the estate are unaware of the risks, parliament’s leading unions have warned

THE head of the UK Parliament’s complaints watchdog has said she “does not know” if the Palace of Westminster is a safe workplace for women.

“There are some things to be cheery about,” said Penny Mordaunt, cheerily, in the Heathrow Lounge in the Manchester Central Convention Complex last Tuesday, as she sipped her coffee and smiled benignly. Not the economy, not improving figures on immigration, nor any good news about sewage, concrete, knife crime, strikes…

When I meet a parliamentarian my first question is always: do you know where your nearest fire exit is? Because the Palace of Westminster, built on Thorney Island, an eyot in Thames, is falling apart. Not falling down (though the Victoria Tower leans 22mm to the north-west) but apart.

UNESCO threatens to remove Westminster’s status as World Heritage Site; what a metaphor for decline. This should be taken seriously — in 2021 Unesco removed Liverpool’s listing. London deserves this prize: the Palace of Westminster by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin is a masterpiece. It is classical in plan and…