Written questions

House of Lords: Fire Prevention

2026-07-01 · The Senior Deputy Speaker · HL1580 · Official question

Baroness Coffey

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what and where was the source of the fire that required parliamentary business to be suspended and the House of Lords to be evacuated on 2 July.

Answer

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The evacuation was a pre-planned fire evacuation exercise. The drill had been approved by the relevant senior stakeholders, including the Lord Speaker, t...