Fire outbreaks in Palace of Westminster spark ‘Notre Dame inferno’ warning

Fire has breached retired 45 times successful the Palace of Westminster implicit the past decade, latest figures show, sparking warnings of a “Notre Dame inferno incubating” connected the crumbling estate.

Labour erstwhile furniture curate Lord Hain, who obtained the breakdown of incidents successful Parliament, said helium was “horrified”.

The peer, who served arsenic Commons person for 2 years during his clip arsenic an MP, has deed retired astatine the “prevarication and delay” implicit the restoration of the satellite practice site, which helium feared could person “catastrophic consequences”.

I americium horrified and these fires show that there’s a Notre Dame inferno incubating successful the palace

Lord Hain

The statement implicit however to revamp the Houses of Parliament has been ongoing for years arsenic the outgo of the multibillion-pound task has spiralled alongside concerns astir the information of the humanities buildings – including the menace of fire, flood and asbestos.

The basement of the palace has antecedently been branded the “cathedral of horror” due to the fact that of the underground tangle of pipes, cables and wiring, with cardinal services inaccessible, buried down layers of much caller installations.

The fig of tiny occurrence outbreaks betwixt 2014 and 2024, revealed successful reply to a written parliamentary question by Lord Hain, is acceptable to substance request for urgent action.

Raising the hazard of a blaze akin to that which devastated the celebrated cathedral successful the bosom of Paris successful 2019, Lord Hain said: “I americium horrified and these fires show that there’s a Notre Dame inferno incubating successful the palace.

“Parliament decided years agone to a afloat decant for the due restoration and renewal of the full precious satellite practice site.

“But ever since past determination has been prevarication and hold which could good person catastrophic consequences.”

MPs and peers had agreed successful 2018 a program that would spot some the Commons and Lords determination to impermanent facilities adjacent the existing site, a “full decant”, to let indispensable repairs and upgrades to beryllium made.

But this was subsequently revisited amid concerns astir the cost, with officials informing that securing nationalist backing to walk billions of pounds connected Parliament’s restoration and renewal would beryllium a “very hard sell”.

However, they besides cautioned that with continued delays “eventually determination volition beryllium catastrophic and irreversible harm to the palace”.

Three options are presently being developed to sphere the Palace of Westminster, ranging from temporarily relocating some Houses of Parliament, keeping the Commons onsite portion temporarily relocating the Lords, oregon conducting a rolling programme of works “to present enhanced attraction and improvement”.

The elaborate work, including estimated costs and timescales arsenic good arsenic risks and mitigations, is expected to beryllium presented to MPs and peers by the extremity of 2025 “to alteration an evidence-based determination connected however champion to reconstruct the palace”.

The enhanced attraction enactment is apt to beryllium the astir costly and instrumentality the longest time, with enactment being done mostly without either House having to permission the palace.

It has been suggested this could instrumentality astir 2 decades oregon much to complete.

The “full decant” enactment would spot the Commons instrumentality to the palace aft astir 8 years, with the Lords returning astir 3 years later, portion the “continued presence” enactment would spot peers absent from the palace for up to 17 years.

All options are expected to outgo billions of pounds, with estimates antecedently ranging from £7 cardinal to £22 billion.

A spokesperson for UK Parliament said: “Work is already happening crossed the parliamentary property to guarantee the information of those moving present and visiting, including refurbishment of historical bureau buildings and occurrence information improvements specified arsenic occurrence doorway upgrades, compartmentation, occurrence information signage and a precocious unit h2o mist system.

“We stay connected way to bring costed proposals for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster to some Houses by the extremity of the twelvemonth detailing costs, timescales, risks and benefits of 3 transportation options, each of which correspond a significant, multibillion-pound concern successful the palace.”