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16/09/2004
Commons under armed guard after protestor invasion
The chamber of the House of Commons is today under armed guard after five protestors breached the chamber during a debate on banning hunting with dogs yesterday.
Eight men have been arrested for questioning on suspicion of forgery, burglary with intent to commit criminal damage and violent disorder.
The incident, which has raised questions over security arrangements at the heart of British democracy, is reportedly being considered an ‘inside job’ by the Metropolitan Police.
Security inside the Palace of Westminster is currently the responsibility of the serjeant-at-arms and his staff, a state of affairs that many commentators have branded archaic.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis warned that the “spectacular failure of House of Commons security will encourage terrorist acts in Britain and elsewhere”.
As a search was launched for Parliamentary ‘insiders’ who may have helped pro-hunt campaigners to invade the Commons as MPs debated plans to ban the sport, Mr Davis said those involved should face criminal charges.
He added: "What we have witnessed is something which puts a large number of people at risk, not just in the House of Commons. It will encourage terrorists elsewhere."
Mr Davis said the invasion was not an isolated security breach, and followed an earlier attack in which protestors managed to enter the galleries and bombard the chamber with flour bombs – one of which struck Tony Blair. "The security system has broken down completely," he added.
Expressing his suspicion that Wednesday's incident was an inside job, the Conservative spokesman added: "Continual security failures will persuade more sinister figures to invade Parliament. There has to be a trade off between security and accessibility. Peaceful demonstrations have a long and wonderful history, but direct action can be dangerous."
(gb/mb)
Eight men have been arrested for questioning on suspicion of forgery, burglary with intent to commit criminal damage and violent disorder.
The incident, which has raised questions over security arrangements at the heart of British democracy, is reportedly being considered an ‘inside job’ by the Metropolitan Police.
Security inside the Palace of Westminster is currently the responsibility of the serjeant-at-arms and his staff, a state of affairs that many commentators have branded archaic.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis warned that the “spectacular failure of House of Commons security will encourage terrorist acts in Britain and elsewhere”.
As a search was launched for Parliamentary ‘insiders’ who may have helped pro-hunt campaigners to invade the Commons as MPs debated plans to ban the sport, Mr Davis said those involved should face criminal charges.
He added: "What we have witnessed is something which puts a large number of people at risk, not just in the House of Commons. It will encourage terrorists elsewhere."
Mr Davis said the invasion was not an isolated security breach, and followed an earlier attack in which protestors managed to enter the galleries and bombard the chamber with flour bombs – one of which struck Tony Blair. "The security system has broken down completely," he added.
Expressing his suspicion that Wednesday's incident was an inside job, the Conservative spokesman added: "Continual security failures will persuade more sinister figures to invade Parliament. There has to be a trade off between security and accessibility. Peaceful demonstrations have a long and wonderful history, but direct action can be dangerous."
(gb/mb)
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