Probe opens into British parliament intrusion

Britain launched an inquiry yesterday into the first storming of its parliament since 1647 after a protest stunt revealed shambolic security at the heart of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government.

Eight men opposing a law to ban fox hunting used a forged letter to enter the landmark Victorian building and were then apparently helped by someone inside with a security pass.

Five of them, dressed in T-shirts bearing Blair's face, stole through the labyrinthine complex to storm the debating floor, before ceremonial guards dressed in black stockings and tailcoats hauled them away.

One guard in buckled shoes gave chase with a sword dangling from his belt: a show of quaintness that turned Britain - seen as a top terror target - into an international laughing stock.

Police were holding the eight for questioning yesterday as parliamentary and security officials opened investigations.

The break-in took place just two days after a fathers' rights campaigner dressed as Batman scaled a balcony at Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace and four months after Blair was pelted with flour-filled condoms inside the House of Commons.

Heads were expected to roll and a major shake-up of security at Britain's key sites looked inevitable.

Some predicted London would have to scrap its softly-softly approach in favour of US-style, high-profile security.

As armed guards were drafted in to beef up protection at parliament in central London, many Britons were bewildered as to how a handful of men in tights are still allowed to be the last defence for the nation's leaders in the post September 11 world.

"The sight of five fit young men being pursued around the Commons chamber by middle-aged officials in frock coats was hilarious," wrote the Sun's political editor Trevor Kavanagh.

"Yet there are alarming implications for the security of this nation... Had they been carrying explosives, they could have carried out a Beslan-style (school siege) atrocity."

One of the five who stormed the chamber was Otis Ferry, the son of British rock star Bryan Ferry and a hunter himself. Another was a friend of royal princes William and Harry.

The invasion came as pro-hunt demonstrators clashed with police on the streets outside. Demonstrators returned to Parliament Square in smaller numbers on Thursday and vowed to dog the upcoming conference of Blair's ruling Labour Party.

"The days of lobbying and marches are gone. You will find major confrontational events in the medium term," said Peter Gent, a director at the Countryside Action Network, which he describes as 3,000 strong direct action group.

But national debate focused on the break-in and how to keep institutions open yet secure.