Parliament suspended after water starts to leak through the ceiling

Parliament was suspended on Thursday afternoon when water began leaking through the ceiling during a Commons session.

The proceedings were interrupted after what is believed to be water began pouring from the ceiling at the front quarter of the chamber, near where the house speaker sits.

During a speech Justin Madders, Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, told the speaker: ‘Mr Speaker, I hope I can finish my speech before rain stops play.

‘I think there’s some sort of simile for how broken Parliament is right now.’

But as the leak got stronger during his speech, ministers on the benches ducked and dived to avoid being dripped on.

After letting Mr Madders finish, at 2.48pm the speaker announced: ‘I’ve got to suspend the sitting and when we come back, the bells will ring two minutes before we start.

‘The sitting is now suspended – and no photographs please!’

But it appears Parliament has been adjourned for the remainder of the day.

Shortly after the sitting was suspended, the Labour Whips Twitter account said: ‘The sitting of the House of Commons has been suspended as there appears to be a sewerage leak in the press gallery.’

Around 15 minutes later, the account Tweeted: ‘Due to a water leak the House of Commons has now been adjourned for the rest of the day.’

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The House of Commons’ official Twitter account confirmed the leak ‘was water’ – and not sewage.

It also confirmed that the leak had been ‘isolated’, saying: ‘The leak was urgently dealt with and has now been isolated. The House of Commons maintenance team is currently assessing the damage.’

It is not the first time that the building – which has stood in its current form since 1870 – has been subjected to problems, with the building requiring ‘constant maintenance’.

In November 2012, Labour MP Ben Bradshaw complained to the Commons that ‘urine seems to be pouring’ into his office

The leak came from an upstairs toilet, with officials insisting there was no damage caused.

At the time, a spokesman for Mr Bradshaw told the BBC: ‘The whole office smells of urine’.