Houses of Parliament at risk of ‘Notre Dame-style fire’ as renovation costs rise

Report says cost of maintenance could soon reach £2m a week, including 24-hour patrols to avert fire risk

The Palace of Westminster will be at risk of a Notre Dame-style fire or a similar catastrophic event if MPs do not tackle the issue of funding refurbishments, a parliamentary committee has said.

Decisions about how and when to begin a full restoration of the building, which is Grade I-listed and a Unesco world heritage site, have been repeatedly delayed amid disagreement over how it should be done and spiralling costs.

The cost of maintaining the estate will soon hit £2m a week, and a recent estimate found the work could cost as much as £40bn and potentially last for six decades.