A WOMAN intruder broke into the Palace of Westminster and slept the night in a Parliamentary committee room.
She was discovered the next day and police were alerted and the woman was detained under the Mental Health Act.
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The security breach came as Parliament was supposed to be on full alert for a visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla earlier that same day.
A review of security at the Palace of Westminster has been carried out following the break-in.
It is unclear how the female intruder managed to sneak into the restricted area without a pass.
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended Parliament on May 2 and met with Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle in advance of the Coronation four days later.
A source told The Sun: ‘’What is not known is that around the same time as the Royal visit, a woman without a pass managed to stay on the Parliamentary estate overnight without detection.
“She was discovered the following day in a committee room and the police were immediately informed.”
The woman is thought to have been in a distressed state when she was found.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At 14:42hrs on Wednesday, 3 May, officers responded to concerns for the welfare of a woman at the Palace of Westminster.
“She was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital.”
The break-in comes after five Extinction Rebellion climate protesters broke into the House of Commons chamber in September last year and tried to glue themselves to the Speaker’s chair.
Former Met detective chief inspector Mick Neville said of the latest lapse: “A review of security arrangements will be conducted.
“It is extraordinary that she managed to break in at all.
“Most people never see a bobby on the beat but the Palace of Westminster is full of them – and many carry firearms.
“So how did an uninvited woman, with no permission to enter Parliament, slip through the net and spend a night sleeping in a committee room?
“Luckily, it would seem that she was harmless, but this individual could have been a terrorist.
“Even more worryingly, the King and Queen were visiting around the same time she got in.”
Mr Neville added: “Perhaps the police officers assumed that the sleeping woman was a member of the House of Lords, who often have a snooze in the chamber”
