Two men have been arrested for allegedly planting a phone in the House of Commons to broadcast explicit audio content during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Metropolitan Police officers located the phone during standard security procedures on September 3 near the Government's front seating area.
A man in his thirties was arrested on September 5, whilst another individual in his sixties was apprehended on September 30.
Both men were detained on allegations of deliberately attempting to create a public disturbance and have since been released on conditional bail pending further investigation, it has emerged.
The phone had been affixed beneath a table using tape but had subsequently detached and dropped to the floor, according to reports.
During the prime ministerial questioning session, the phone activated twice and played “sex noises”.
However, security personnel had already identified and removed the device before it could achieve its apparent purpose of disrupting the parliamentary proceedings between Sir Keir Starmer and the opposition.
The discovery occurred at 10.25am when Metropolitan Police officers were conducting their standard chamber inspection.
The prank is believed to have been intended to disturb the weekly questions posed to the Prime Minister by MPs
| PAFollowing the discovery, Parliament implemented enhanced security protocols, with both audio presentations and public tours suspended, while visitor access to the Commons chamber faced significant restrictions.
The House of Lords adopted similar preventative steps, limiting entry to their chamber as a protective measure.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed: "At 10.25 on Wednesday, September 3, a mobile phone was found during a routine search of the House of Commons chamber by Met officers.
"Enquiries led officers to believe that the phone was purposely placed in a location with the aim of causing disruption to business in the house.
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The phone was discovered during a routine sweep of the House of Commons
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"A man in his 30s was arrested on Friday, September, 5 on suspicion of attempting to intentionally cause a public nuisance.
"Another man in his 60s was arrested on Tuesday, September 30, on suspicion of the same offence. Both have been bailed to return at a later date.
"Enquiries remain ongoing and we continue to keep the speaker and clerk of the house up to date with our investigation," the spokesman added.
The security breach coincided with industrial action by Westminster's security personnel, who were striking over employment terms, including reduced holiday allowances and wage stagnation.
At the time, a UK Parliament spokesman said: "Parliament is a public building and we facilitate the visits of thousands of people to the estate each week.
"The safety and security of everyone who works or visits here remains our top priority, and we have robust and proactive security measures in place – this includes ensuring that visitors and their belongings are security screened, along with monitoring and routine searches of areas that are open to the public.
"Whilst we cannot comment on the detail of our processes, we can confirm that a mobile phone was removed from the Commons Chamber on 3 September – demonstrating the effectiveness of the security measures we have in operation," they added.
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