Fire has broken out 45 times in the Palace of Westminster over the last decade, latest figures show, sparking warnings of a “Notre Dame inferno incubating” on the crumbling estate.
Labour former cabinet minister Lord Hain, who obtained the breakdown of incidents in Parliament, said he was “horrified”.
The peer, who served as Commons leader for two years during his time as an MP, has hit out at the “prevarication and delay” over the restoration of the world heritage site, which he feared could have “catastrophic consequences”.
The debate over how to revamp the Houses of Parliament has been ongoing for years as the cost of the multibillion-pound project has spiralled alongside concerns about the condition of the historical buildings – including the threat of fire, flood and asbestos.
The basement of the palace has previously been branded the “cathedral of horror” because of the underground tangle of pipes, cables and wiring, with key services inaccessible, buried behind layers of more recent installations.
The number of small fire outbreaks between 2014 and 2024, revealed in reply to a written parliamentary question by Lord Hain, is set to fuel demand for urgent action.
Raising the risk of a blaze similar to that which devastated the famous cathedral in the heart of Paris in 2019, Lord Hain said: “I am horrified and these fires demonstrate that there’s a Notre Dame inferno incubating in the palace.
“Parliament decided years ago to a full decant for the proper restoration and renewal of the whole precious world heritage site.
“But ever since then there has been prevarication and delay which could well have catastrophic consequences.”
Lord Hain speaking in the House of Lords (PA)
MPs and peers had agreed in 2018 a plan that would see both the Commons and Lords move to temporary facilities near the existing site, a “full decant”, to allow essential repairs and upgrades to be made.
But this was subsequently revisited amid concerns about the cost, with officials warning that securing public backing to spend billions of pounds on Parliament’s restoration and renewal would be a “very hard sell”.
However, they also cautioned that with continued delays “eventually there will be catastrophic and irreversible damage to the palace”.
Three options are currently being developed to preserve the Palace of Westminster, ranging from temporarily relocating both Houses of Parliament, keeping the Commons onsite while temporarily relocating the Lords, or conducting a rolling programme of works “to deliver enhanced maintenance and improvement”.
The detailed work, including estimated costs and timescales as well as risks and mitigations, is expected to be presented to MPs and peers by the end of 2025 “to enable an evidence-based decision on how best to restore the palace”.
The enhanced maintenance option is likely to be the most expensive and take the longest time, with work being done largely without either House having to leave the palace.
It has been suggested this could take around two decades or more to complete.
The “full decant” option would see the Commons return to the palace after around eight years, with the Lords returning around three years later, while the “continued presence” option would see peers absent from the palace for up to 17 years.
All options are expected to cost billions of pounds, with estimates previously ranging from £7 billion to £22 billion.
A spokesperson for UK Parliament said: “Work is already happening across the parliamentary estate to ensure the safety of those working here and visiting, including refurbishment of historic office buildings and fire safety improvements such as fire door upgrades, compartmentation, fire safety signage and a high pressure water mist system.
“We remain on track to bring costed proposals for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster to both Houses by the end of the year detailing costs, timescales, risks and benefits of three delivery options, all of which represent a significant, multibillion-pound investment in the palace.”