Overview
- A fox was discovered hiding in a stationery cupboard in George Freeman’s Portcullis House office after a caseworker heard noises on Monday, and staff gave the animal water while they waited for help.
- House authorities dispatched pest control and animal experts who removed the fox calmly and released it in Victoria Tower Gardens with no reported injuries.
- Parliamentary officials have begun studying CCTV and access procedures to determine the route the fox used to get into the building and whether doors or cleaning routines played a part.
- Members of the pest control team said a callout for a fox inside an office was a first, and officials described the incident as isolated with no current evidence of a wider security problem.
- The episode sits against a background of routine pest management at the parliamentary estate, where staff regularly deal with mice and other mammals and the authority spends six figures each year on pest control.