A SENIOR MP has warned the Palace of Westminster will suffer a Notre Dame-style fire disaster if a fresh two year delay to urgent renovations goes ahead.

After years of putting off a £3bn plan to modernise Parliament’s decaying home, the Commons finally agreed last year for work to begin in 2026.

But it has emerged a committee of grandees overseeing it – lead by former Tory Cabinet minister Dame Caroline Spelman – is now proposing to push it back to 2028, meaning the rehaul won’t begin for almost a decade.

Senior Labour MP Chris Bryant last night labelled the decaying 19th Century London landmark “a potential death trap of catastrophic proportions”.

He called on the Government to use the Paris tragedy as an urgent wake-up call.

Mr Bryant, who chairs the Commons’ Finance Committee, told The Sun: “Parliament has become a potential death trap of catastrophic proportions because we have allowed years of neglect.

A potential death trap of catastrophic proportions

“The best part of 9,000 people work in it every day, plus thousands more tourists.”

“Everybody needs a rocket up their fundamentals.

“We cannot delay the move until 2028, and the Government must stop dragging its feet on introducing the legislation to create the body to oversee the renovation.”

MP for Rhondda Mr Bryant identified the Palace of Westminster’s roof as the greatest fire risk – an alarming echo of Notre Dame, where the fire is feared to have started in the steeple.

He added:  “There are still completely inaccessible parts of estate such as the attic where if a fire started there, nobody would find it for a long time.

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“We still have some electrical and heating systems from Queen Victoria’s age.”

The ageing palace – rebuilt in 1840 after a devastating fire – contains a huge network of ventilation shafts and floor voids created for ventilation.

But they also create ideal conditions for fire and smoke to spread rapidly throughout the building.

Officials are now so worried about the risk that fire safety officer patrol the building 24 hours a day to spot any signs of a blaze.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also dubbed the risk of fire destroying Parliament as “obviously huge”, adding: “The state of the building is very poor”.

Theresa May’s de facto deputy Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said a water leak in the Commons earlier this month was a stark reminder of the need to deal with the building’s problems.

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Writing in the Bucks Free Press, the Aylesbury MP said: “With each year that passes, the risk of a catastrophic fire grows.”

A Parliamentary spokeswoman said: “Fire safety is a key priority for Parliament and protections are constantly reviewed and updated including at our active construction sites, and in planning for the future restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

“Last year we completed a major programme of works to enhance fire life safety measures in the Palace, and while this work continues we stand ready to learn any lessons that emerge from the fire at Notre Dame to ensure we do everything possible to protect our people and buildings on the Parliamentary Estate.”

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