A parliamentary session had to be suspended this afternoon after water could be seen dripping from the roof.
A parliamentary session in the UK had to be suspended this afternoon after water could be seen dripping from the roof.
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The inability of the House of Commons to keep water out is being seen as a metaphor for Brexit: a broken parliament unable to get May's EU divorce deal approved.
Shortly before the suspension, one MP, in the middle of a speech, wondered aloud whether he could finish before "rain stopped play".
Water can be heard dripping heavily in footage of the parliamentary session, which had around 25 MPs in the chamber when proceedings were paused.
The House of Commons, which was built in the mid-1800s, says pollution and a lack of maintenance have caused "extensive decay".
"The roofs are leaking, asbestos is present throughout, and corrosion has occurred in gutters and downpipes and internal plumbing regularly fails, causing visible and sometimes irreversible damage to the Palace’s carved stonework ceilings and Pugin-designed historic interiors," says the House of Commons website.