An undercover reporter smuggled fake bomb-making equipment into the British parliament, a day after fox hunting protesters made a mockery of security by bursting onto the floor of the debating chamber.
In the second embarrassment in 24 hours for the centuries-old parliament, The Sun tabloid newspaper said its reporter had worked for three weeks in the House of Commons as a waiter.
Despite heightened security after the invasion by pro-hunting protesters, he was still able on Thursday to smuggle in components for a bomb such as batteries, wire and a timer, along with some plasticine that looked like explosives.
A photograph showed reporter Anthony France serving tea to John Prescott, deputy to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“Had I been a terrorist, I could have left the 'device' in a toilet or in the restaurant where I worked. It could easily have blown up the chamber,” he wrote.
Even the staunchest supporters of the ancient traditions of parliament now concede police need to take a more prominent role defending the seat of government.
Currently, a gray-haired ex-army officer called the Serjeant-at-Arms is responsible for parliamentary security.
His staff of ushers and doorkeepers are known as “the men in tights” for their traditional dress.
String of security embarrassments
The expose of the security shambles prompted Peter Hain, the government leader in the chamber, to say: “The Sun has done the House a favor by exposing the amateurish and old-fashioned culture which is a threat to the very cockpit of democracy.”
Hain, who has called for the appointment of a new director of security in parliament, said: “It’s not just ministers at risk but the 14,000 other people who work in the Palace of Westminster in the modern age of suicide bombers.”
There have now been three glaring breaches — Greenpeace activists climbed the Big Ben clock tower, fathers’ rights campaigners pelted Blair with flour-filled condoms in the House and the hunt protesters burst into the hallowed chamber.
It was the first time protesters reached the floor of parliament since 1647 when a mob stormed in to protest against secret talks with King Charles I.
“Our security arrangements are antiquated,” said Hain. “The House of Commons is operating as if in a bygone age.”
Britain, a prime supporter of the United States in its “war on terrorism” and partner in its invasion of Iraq, has long feared a large-scale attack.
But critics say gaffes this week have made a laughing stock of security precautions at Britain’s seats of power.
A fathers’ rights campaigner dressed as Batman also scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London residence.
Then on Wednesday, eight men opposing a planned law to ban fox hunting used a forged letter to enter parliament where they were apparently helped by someone inside with a security pass.
Five of them ran onto the debating floor before ceremonial guards in black stockings and tailcoats hauled them away.
