Water floods into House of Commons, meetings suspended

The UK’s House of Commons was forced to close and sittings had to be suspended on Monday after water began to flood into the chamber.

Water began leaking onto the famous green benches on Monday while a House of Commons chamber meeting business was in progress inside the London landmark.

Staff rushed to place buckets around the chamber to collect the water as it dripped down from ceilings in the UK Parliament building.

Attempts were also made to cover up the central table with protective sheeting in a bid to keep it dry.

Conservative MP Michael Fabricant sent out a tweet saying “Water leak in House of Commons Chamber. Sitting and Democracy suspended until further notice.’

Fabricant attached several water emojis to the Twitter post, also adding emojis of a duck and fish. 

All activity has been suspended until further notice, officials announced.

The House of Commons sits inside the Palace of Westminster in London which has been standing since 1876.

The original Palace of Westminster opened in 1016 but was demolished in 1834 due to a fire. 

A rebuilding process began in 1840 before the new building was ready to open 36 years later.

💦Water leak in House of Commons Chamber.
Sitting and Democracy suspended until further notice. 💦💦💦💦💦🦆🐟

— Michael Fabricant 🇬🇧🇺🇦🌻 (@Mike_Fabricant) July 11, 2022

The House of Commons confirmed the leak, tweeting: “Today’s sitting is delayed due to a water leak in the House of Commons Chamber. The House of Commons will sit at 3.30 pm.”

Today’s sitting is delayed due to a water leak in the House of Commons Chamber. The House of Commons will sit at 3.30pm. https://t.co/SfbVQWr42n

— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) July 11, 2022

News of the leak came shortly after outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to announce who he wants to follow him as PM. 

Boris Johnson announced his intention to resign on July 7 following an eventful three years as Prime Minister of the UK.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.