A phone was planted in the House of Commons as part of an attempted prank which would have seen “sex noises” broadcast during Prime Minister’s Questions, it has emerged.
Parliamentary authorities have launched an inquiry into how a mobile was hidden near where Sir Keir Starmer was due to stand up and face Kemi Badenoch on the front benches on Wednesday.
It was found during a routine sweep before PMQs and was reportedly due to play a sexually explicit audio recording.
There is no clear footage of the phone being planted, however, the incident is being treated as a major breach of parliamentary security. A source told The Times: “It looks like it was just a prank, but it could have been much worse.”
And they raised concerns that it could have been an explosive, adding that “we don’t know how it got here”.
A UK Parliament spokesperson told The Independent: “The safety and security of all those who work and visit in Parliament is our top priority, however, we cannot comment on our security processes or measures.”
The Commons chamber is open to the public on most mornings, raising questions about who could have planted the device.
Multiple live events have been disrupted by “sex noise” pranks in recent years, though the victims have mostly been sport-related.
The Euro 2024 draw was hit as pornography sounds were loudly played as teams were finding out their groups for last summer’s football tournament.
Social media personality Daniel Jarvis, known as ‘Jarvo69’, promptly claimed responsibility for the prank, declaring on a live stream: “We done it, we got in there. Sex noises at the Euro 2024 draw. Love you guys.”
Mr Jarvis previously claimed credit for a similar incident that occurred during the BBC’s live pre-match coverage of the FA Cup third-round replay between Wolves and Liverpool back in January.
Well, we found this taped to the back of the set. As sabotage goes it was quite amusing. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ikUhBJ38Je
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 17, 2023
That incident caused consternation and hilarity among the presenters as host Gary Lineker and pundits Danny Murphy and Paul Ince had to deal with a loud recording of sex noises beginning to blare out of the studio.
Greg James also faced a similar prank last year at the hands of a caller into BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast with Greg James.
The mobile phone in the Commons marks one of the biggest breaches of parliamentary security since a group of semi-naked climate change protesters disrupted a Brexit debate in the Commons in 2019, glueing their hands to the public gallery’s glass screens.
The protesters spent almost 20 minutes with their buttocks pointing into the chamber.
