Dozens of workers in the UK Parliament may have been exposed to asbestos after an incident in autumn of last year. According to parliamentary officials, the incident occurred as part of fire safety works conducted in the Speaker’s House, the residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
One person who was familiar with the work and the maintenance required for the task said that it appeared as though there had been a “a huge failure of safety systems.”
According to a House of Commons spokesperson, “The House is currently working with our contractors, supply chain and the Health and Safety Executive following an incident of possible asbestos exposure on the estate. A temporary pause in construction projects was implemented to ensure lessons learned from this incident are rapidly implemented.”
Per a report into the condition of parliamentary buildings in 2016, the building in question was noted as “riddled with asbestos” and “a thorough renovation of the Palace [of Westminster] would allow this asbestos to be removed safely and more cost-effectively.”
That report recommended that all the MPs be moved to another location to undertake their work while the electrical, heating and sewerage systems were updated.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was until recently the leader of the House of Commons, has been quoted as saying that “some of the propaganda around the scheme may be over-egged.”
He and other conservative MPs have expressed concern over the cost of the restoration, which will likely exceed the original estimate of £4 billion pounds.