The phone was planted near the front bench and was supposed to go off as Keir Starmer faced Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday, only to be discovered beforehand by parliament security
An investigation has been launched after a mobile phone was hidden in the Commons in a prank aiming to broadcast “sex noises” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
According to The Times, the phone was planted near the front bench and was supposed to go off as Keir Starmer faced Kemi Badenoch in the chamber on Wednesday.
Due to play a sexually explicit audio recording, the phone was instead found during a routine sweep before the debate began. It is now being treated seriously as it represents a major breach of parliamentary security. There is no clear footage of the mobile phone being planted.
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A source told The Times: “It looks like it was just a prank but it could have been much worse. We don’t know how it got there.”
Tourists can go in the chamber most mornings, with the Palace of Westminster, which includes the UK Parliament, welcoming a record 560,317 visitors last year.
The incident is similar to audio from a pornographic video being played during a live broadcast of Match of the Day in 2023. Gary Lineker had been presenting the pre-match build-up before a fixture between Wolves and Liverpool, only to be interrupted by loud moaning.
A planted mobile phone was discovered after and a YouTube prankster claimed responsibility. While the BBC apologised to any viewers who were offended, Lineker later disclosed that the mobile phone was “taped to the back of the set” and described it as a “good prank”, adding there was nothing to apologise for.
The incident comes four years after one of the biggest recent breaches of parliamentary security, which saw a group of semi-naked climate change protesters interrupted a Brexit debate and glued their hands to the glass of the public gallery. They spent almost 20 minutes with their bums facing the chamber.
A UK Parliament spokesperson said: “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”.
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