Recommendation 20

The Clerk of the House of Commons explained the House administrations stood down all works on the parliamentary estate on 9 February, in part to check whether the right protocols were in place and understood by the relevant staff.50 He told us that the handling of the incident was not a defensible position and that it should not have happened as it happened.51 42 HC49 Q 80–90 43 HC1100 Q 145; UK Parliament: Written answer, UIN 96953, 11 January 2022Letter from Dr John Benger, 29 March 2022 44 HC1100 Qq 138–139; C&AG’s Report, para 1.13 45 Public Accounts Committee, Construction of Portcullis House, the new Parliamentary building, Sixty-Third Report, Session 2001–02, HC 861, 24 July 2002 46 HC1100 Q 27 47 HC1100 Qq 2, 4 48 HC1100 Qq 5–6 49 HC 1100 Q10 50 HC1100 Qq 14, 27 51 HC1100 Q 15; HC49 Qq 1–5 Restoration and Renewal of Parliament 15