British lawmakers faced criticism from their own number on Tuesday after only 30 — less than 5% of the total — turned up for an anti-terrorism drill in Parliament.
The exercise took place on Tuesday morning, when the chamber and galleries of the House of Commons were cleared after a planned “interruption” from one of the galleries.
However, of 646 MPs, only 30 decided to attend, with Leader of the House of Commons Geoff Hoon saying “obviously” he would have liked more people to be at the pre-arranged exercise.
Bob Russell, the only MP from the opposition Liberal Democrats there, was more scathing, saying parliamentarians have to set a better example following the July 7 London bombings in which at least 56 people died.
“If politicians are looking to the country to be more aware of security perhaps, leading by example would carry more weight than exhortations,” he said. — AFP