MPs to stay... among the mice, moths and pigeons

THE Speaker and the Leader of the House of Commons have joined forces to stop MPs being moved out of Parliament for a planned multi-billion pound refit, said a senior source.

- David Williamson

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg are understood to believe keeping them in the building is the only way of stopping costs spiralling.

Their defiance comes as figures reveal MPs and civil servants are sharing the corridors of power with a rising number of mice, moths and pigeons, all disturbed by building works.

But it is feared if parliamentarians go, then restoration project bosses will keep coming up with new things to do, increasing costs and delaying the return.

The soaring bills for the upgrade of the Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben shows how repairs can end up costing radically more than originally estimated.