Bullet-proof shield for Strangers’ Gallery
Westminster is to have a security makeover to further protect MPs from possible terrorist attack.
A confidential security review recommended the installation of a bullet-proof glass shield in front of the Strangers’ Gallery, according to The Sunday Times.
In the past, visitors to the Gallery have thrown objects such as paint as well as hurling much abuse at sitting MPs.
Although the Commons has x-ray machines and metal detectors, there are fears that liquid explosives or plastic guns could be smuggled in undetected.
In the days after the Hutton report, anti-Iraq war protestors in the Gallery yelled ‘No more illegal wars’, ‘Whitewash’ and ‘War criminal’ as the Prime Minister addressed the House of Commons.
Speaker Michael Martin suspended Commons business for 15 minutes and ordered the closure of the public gallery for the first time in 17 years.
The security review, undertaken by the House of Commons commission, is chaired by the Speaker and includes senior MPs who received debriefings from MI5, Special Branch, the Metropolitan police and parliamentary security officials.
Work on fortifying the Gallery began on Friday, but the screen will not be completed until the Easter recess.
