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Peers criticise £9.6m House of Lords front door

Sam Francis
Political reporter
BBC The Peers Entrance to the Houses of Parliament, showing a grand Gothic-style stone facade with a large arched doorway, intricate carvings, and tall windows. A police officer stands near a security booth, two cars are parked in front, and a man walks toward the entrance.BBC

Peers have criticised the new front door to the House of Lords, after ministers revealed it cost £9.6m and still does not work properly.

The Peers' Entrance began a multi-year security upgrade in 2023, but is still not fully accessible for disabled peers, and requires a permanent member of staff on site "to press the button to open the door," peers said.

Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith said it was "completely unacceptable that we have a door that does not operate as it should".

A House of Lords spokesperson said works were under way to "resolve ongoing issues with the door at Peers' Entrance, at no extra cost to the public".

"The work at Peers' Entrance is an important project as part of our commitment to ensure the safety and security of everyone on the Parliamentary estate," the House of Lords spokesperson added.

Upgrading security at Peers' Entrance was among several recommendations suggested by a review following the Westminster terror attack in 2017.

Baroness Smith said the cost of the door rose from an initial £6.1m estimate due to the cost of keeping the entrance operational during works, and "heritage" issues at the Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Despite the increased cost, Baroness Smith said it remained unclear if the door "will ever be fully operational".

"If it will not, other decisions have to be resolved and that has to be something that is done very quickly," she added.

During a debate in the House of Lords, Conservative peer Lord Forsyth called the project a "complete white elephant and a disaster".

Despite being "one of the most expensive front doors in the world," Lord Forsyth said he had been told that "someone must be there permanently to press the button to open the door".

"The other evening, someone in a wheelchair was unable to access the House," he added.

Another Tory peer, former transport secretary Lord Howell, warned that the need for staff to manually operate the door meant Parliament was "haemorrhaging money".

Conservative peer Lord Robathan said someone "needs to be able" for the door's problems.

"In the private sector, people would be sacked," he added.

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