The new front door to the House of Lords in London does not function properly, despite having undergone a major £9.6 million (€11.13 million) security upgrade from 2023, sparking outrage inside the UK Parliament’s upper chamber.
According to peers who debated the matter in the Lords on Wednesday, the works were initially forecast to cost roughly £6.1 million (€7 million), but in practice went far over budget.
Despite the hefty costs incurred, the door must have a security officer manning it at all times, otherwise it does not work.
Enforcing security provisions at the House of Lords’ entrance was one of a series of recommendations presented by a review into the 2017 Westminster terror attack, which exposed a lack of protection at the heart of Britain’s political institutions.
During Wednesday’s debate, former Tory minister Lord Robathan branded the sums spent on upgrading the door as “a scandalous waste of public money.”
“It is now nearly £10 million for a door which does not work. Somebody accountable must be identified and should perhaps resign for this terrible waste of public money,” he said.
Meanwhile, Conservative Peer Lord Hayward estimated that the costs incurred from ensuring the door was manned at all times — in order to be opened — amounted to roughly £2,500 (€2,890) per week.
The senior deputy speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, responded to Hayward by ensuring that no additional staff members had been hired to operate the door, adding that “the cost to remedy defects [of the door] will not be borne by the House and will be met by Parliament’s contractors.”
As it stands, the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall of Alfuith — who holds the highest authority in the Parliament’s upper chamber has called for an investigation into the debacle.
“Additional information will be needed to understand the failures, including information on costs – both how the initial project figure of £6.1 million was arrived at and the increase to the current total of £9.6 million, and any unanticipated additional costs such as increased staffing to managed and operate the entrance,” said Lord McFall of Alfuith.
In response to the situation, a House of Lords spokesperson told Euronews that it was “not accurate to describe the work as the simple installation of a door. It involved the installation of new security capabilities, alongside significant heritage and infrastructure works.”
The spokesperson added that the increases to the project were incurred by a range of factors, which included a working pattern which sought to “disruption to the House [of Lords], as well as technical issues caused by the discovery of buried historic vaults, and re-scheduling due to unplanned ceremonial events.”
