Big Ben will remain silent for Brexit after it was revealed a symbolic bong to mark the occasion could cost up to half a million pounds.
The House of Commons Commission discussed the idea at a meeting on Monday, but it was ruled out over both financial and logistical issues.
Having the clock strike the hour that the UK leaves the European Union would cost £500,000 – up from the an original estimate of £120,000, the Telegraph reported.
The expanded budget stems from the need to put in and remove a temporary floor in order to ring the bell in the tower, which is currently undergoing renovation works.
A source told The Daily Telegraph: "No-one in the meeting thought it was worth spending £500,000 on having Big Ben strike the hour on one occasion.
"When you consider what else that money could be spent on, it's very hard to make an argument in favour of it."
Another source reportedly said there wasn't enough time to plan for the bell to ring, saying the project team would need "at least two weeks" to prepare.
Conservative MP Mark Francois told the paper he was "very disappointed" with the commission's decision.
"I've already offered to go up Big Ben myself, ably assisted by [European Scrutiny Committee chair] Bill Cash, to ring the bell myself to save money," he said.
"If all else fails, the BBC must have a recording of Big Ben chiming they could play at 11pm at no cost whatsoever to taxpayers."
