Parliament's own spending watchdog has warned that the Palace of Westminster could suffer a fire on the scale of the blaze that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, unless ministers stop delaying a vast restoration programme. In a report published last week, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said the risk of a catastrophic fire at the home of British democracy was real and rising, and that every additional year of delay would add about £420 million to the eventual bill.

The committee's chair, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, put the danger in stark terms, warning that Britain could wake to footage of flames coming through the palace roof in the manner of Notre-Dame, or find the Commons chamber plunged into darkness during the State Opening of Parliament. Round-the-clock fire patrols already walk the building, and surveyors have recorded more than 1,650 asbestos items across the estate, 500 more than in 2021. Figures released to Labour peer Lord Hain have separately recorded 45 fires on the parliamentary estate over the past decade.

Keeping the ageing building safe is also growing more expensive. Weekly maintenance costs are expected to climb from £1.5 million to £2 million, while the full renewal programme has been priced at up to £40 billion and could take more than six decades to complete. The committee urged ministers to bring forward a vote on a first phase of works, worth £3 billion over seven years, describing the decision as crunch time.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle backed the call days later, telling the BBC that his biggest frustration was that work was not getting under way. A debate and vote on the way forward may take place by the new year, though no date has been set. The palace, a Grade I listed building within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has housed Parliament since the thirteenth century.