Two men have been arrested after a mobile phone was planted in the House of Commons to play “sex noises” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The device, discovered near the front bench, is thought to have been hidden there to deliberately disrupt the weekly showdown between Sir Keir Starmer and the opposition.
It had been taped to the underside of a table but had lost its grip and fallen on the floor, according to reports.
It later rang twice during PMQs with a sexually explicit ringtone, but had already been discovered during a routine security sweep on 3 September.
Scotland Yard launched an investigation into the prank, which is being treated as a major security breach.
A man in his 30s and a man in his 60s were arrested on suspicion of attempting to intentionally cause a public nuisance and bailed later that month, it has now emerged.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “At 10.25 on Wednesday 3 September a mobile phone was found during a routine search of the House of Commons chamber by Met officers.
“Enquiries led officers to believe that the phone was purposely placed in a location with the aim of causing disruption to business in the house.
“A man in his 30s was arrested on Friday 5 September on suspicion of attempting to intentionally cause a public nuisance.
“Another man in his 60s was arrested on Tuesday 30 September on suspicion of the same offence. Both have been bailed to return at a later date.”
Heightened security measures were introduced in the Commons after the phone was found. Audio and guided tours were cancelled and there was reduced access to the Commons chamber.
The House of Lords took the same decision to reduce access to the Lords Chamber “as a precautionary measure”.
The incident occurred while hundreds of parliamentary security staff were on strike over pay and conditions, meaning visitors were banned from the parliamentary estate.
A UK Parliament spokesperson said at the time: “Parliament is a public building and we facilitate the visits of thousands of people to the estate each 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 – this includes ensuring that visitors and their belongings are security screened, along with monitoring and routine searches of areas that are open to the public.
“Whilst we cannot comment on the detail of our processes, we can confirm that a mobile phone was removed from the Commons Chamber on 3 September – demonstrating the effectiveness of the security measures we have in operation.”
