Asbestos and The Palace of Westminster

Confront can reveal two people have filed historical claims for contracting mesothelioma, a fatal disease related to asbestos exposure, from the Palace of Westminster.

Decades after asbestos was fully banned in the UK, British public buildings continue to grapple with the legacies of the asbestos industry. Alongside schools, hospitals, universities, social housing, and prisons, the legacy of asbestos exposure in British public buildings extends to The Palace of Westminster, home to the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Asbestos continues to serve as a risk Westminster must manage. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires officials to maintain asbestos registers, tracking the presence and condition of asbestos in public buildings.

Westminster’s asbestos register listed 1,002 known asbestos-containing materials, according to summaries obtained by Confront.

Of this asbestos in Westminster’s register, 242 were categorised as a ‘medium-risk’, and 760 were categorised as a ‘low-risk’. The risk categories relate to the potential for asbestos materials to release the fibres, which can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. All asbestos-containing materials can pose a risk if disturbed and fibres are released.

Factors which determine risk include the type of asbestos fibre, the location, and the condition of the asbestos-containing material. The risk profile can change and this is one reason why an asbestos register is crucial in monitoring the condition of the asbestos and protecting occupants.

Westminster has also had 79 asbestos-containing materials removed since 2020 at a cost of £165,842.

There are two recorded historical claims of mesothelioma from exposure in Westminster, though the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons does not have further details about the success of the claims. The exposure events took place prior to 1992, and no further information was provided regarding when the claims were lodged. Due to a technicality, these claims were lodged with the Department for Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Asbestos diseases normally have a latency period of at least 10 years.

A parliamentary spokesperson told Confront: “Our absolute priority is the safety of those who work on and visit the parliamentary estate.

“The events referred to occurred over 33 years ago and predate the current role and function of both the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons, and the House of Commons Commission, created in 1992 and 1978 respectively. As such, we do not hold any information relating to these claims.”

“As with many historical buildings, asbestos containing materials are present and regularly monitored by specialist teams across the estate. Parliament operates a comprehensive Asbestos Management Plan in line with current HSE guidance which it uses to identify all asbestos containing materials and safely manage them, in full compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.”

Confront contacted DEFRA, who declined to provide a comment.

Former Labour MP Alice Mahon died of mesothelioma in 2022. During her inquest, it was understood she had been exposed to asbestos while working in a hospital in the 1960s and 1970s, though her inquest noted she could have been further exposed during her 17 years as an MP, from 1987 to 2005.

Despite the government banning asbestos in the UK in 1999, asbestos-related diseases continue to kill over 5,000 people a year in the UK.

A Department for Work & Pensions committee in 2022 recommended that the government introduce a national asbestos register and a 40-year plan to phase out asbestos in public and commercial buildings. The government of the day declined the committee’s suggestions.

The asbestos industry knew asbestos was carcinogenic by the 1940s and that even brief exposure to certain types of asbestos could cause the fatal cancer mesothelioma by the mid-1960s.