Commons leak: MP debates cancelled and chamber closed for rest of day after water pours through ceiling

House of Commons business has been cancelled for the rest of the day because of a water leak in the chamber.

The water could be heard gushing into the chamber as MPs gave speeches in a debate about the introduction of the 2019 Loan Charge.

It is understood water began pouring into the press gallery in what some have described as an “apocalyptic metaphor for Brexit”.

The Commons press office said: “The leak was urgently dealt with and has now been isolated. The House of Commons maintenance team is currently assessing the damage.”

Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders was the last member to give a speech before the sitting was suspended.

“I hope I can complete my speech before rain stops play,” he shouted, battling against the gushing of the water.

He quipped the leak represented how the public viewed “broken” Parliament.

When the Labour MP finished his speech, deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle said: “I have got to suspend the sitting and when we come back, the bells will ring two minutes before we restart.

“The sitting is now suspended, and no photographs please.”

However, the Commons press office later announced the sitting had been cancelled for the rest of the day.

It also quashed excited rumours that it was a sewage leak.

It was the chamber’s second extraordinary event in less than 24 hours, after MPs were tied 310 to 310 on a Brexit vote on Wednesday: the first time a vote had been tied since 1993.