The newspaper said that in 2006, the Commission rejected a proposal from a private security contractor to install the system, preferring instead to keep the work ‘in house’.
The work, which could have been completed by early 2007, was given to commons officials and still remains unfinished, it was reported.
It is thought that the five protesters, campaigning against plans for a third runway at Heathrow, used fake visitors’ passes to gain access to the site before using a fire exit to reach the roof.
An overhaul of security was ordered at the Houses of Parliament following a string of breaches in 2004.
In March of that year, Greenpeace activists managed to climb Big Ben before unfurling a huge anti-war banner. Just two months later, then Prime Minister Tony Blair was hit by a Fathers4Justice ‘flour bomb’ as he addressed the house. The worst breach came later in the year, when eight pro-hunting activists tricked their way into the chamber by posing as construction workers.
By the end of 2004 Peter Mason, a senior MI5 officer, had been appointed to the GB pound 100,000-a-year post of security coordinator.
Previously, the Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod – or “men in tights” as they have become known – had been responsible for security. The ceremonial officials operated in line with the ancient tradition of parliamentary sovereignty but were criticised for their inability to prevent breaches.
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