Two men arrested after phone hidden in Commons to ‘play sex noises during PMQs’
Two men have been arrested after mobile phones were planted in the House of Commons to make “sex noises” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The device, located near the front bench, is thought to have been hidden there to deliberately disrupt the weekly clash between Sir Keir Starmer and the opposition.
According to reports, it was taped to the underside of a table, but it lost its grip and fell to the floor.
It later rang twice with an obscene ringtone during PMQs, but it had already been discovered during a routine security sweep on September 3.
Scotland Yard launched an investigation into the prank, which is considered a major security breach.
It emerged that a man in his 30s and a man in his 60s were arrested on suspicion of attempting to deliberately cause a public nuisance and were released on bail later that month.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “A mobile phone was found by Met officers during a routine search of the House of Commons at 10.25am on Wednesday, September 3.
“Investigations led officers to believe that the phone had been deliberately placed somewhere to disrupt household activities.
“A man in his 30s was arrested on Friday, September 5, on suspicion of deliberately attempting to cause a public nuisance.
“On Tuesday, September 30, another man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of the same offence. Both were released on bail to return at a later date.”
After the phone was found, increased security measures were taken in the House of Commons. Audio and guided tours have been canceled and access to the House of Commons has been restricted.
The House of Lords passed the same decision to reduce access to the House of Lords “as a precautionary measure”.
The incident occurred as hundreds of parliamentary security staff were striking over pay and conditions; This meant that visitors were banned from entering the parliament building.
A spokesman for the UK Parliament said at the time: “Parliament is a public building and we make it easier for thousands of people to visit the property every 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, including security screening of visitors and their belongings, as well as monitoring and routine searches of public areas.
“Whilst we cannot comment on the details of our processes, we can confirm that a mobile phone was removed from the House of Commons on 3 September, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the security measures we have in place.”
