The Guardian - Russian diplomats accessed private area of UK parliament in security breach

Exclusive: MPs warned not to invite Russian diplomats to parliament after incident said to have alarmed ministers

Pippa Crerar Political editor
Thu 16 Jan 2025 12.49 EST



Russian diplomats accessed a private area of parliament in a major security breach just before Christmas that has alarmed security officials and prompted private warnings from the speakers of both houses, the Guardian understands.

The small group of diplomats joined a public tour of the Houses of Parliament and then broke off to enter a part of the House of Lords that was out of bounds, before they were found by security and thrown out.

“We suspect they were just wanting to crow to the Kremlin that they had infiltrated the British parliament. It’s not ideal but they were caught before any damage was done,” a parliamentary source said.

UK government ministers, however, were said to have been alarmed by the attempt to breach parliamentary security, which is understood to have occurred late last year.

As a result of the attempt, MPs and peers have been given a written warning not to invite Russian diplomats to parliament. It is unclear whether the group were on a guided tour sponsored by a politician, or if they requested one from the parliamentary visitors’ service.

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