Conservative MP George Freeman was left startled after a fox was discovered rummaging through his Westminster office, having apparently found its way into Portcullis House and hidden in a stationery cupboard. His caseworker spotted the animal before 9am, and staff gave it water and kept it calm while a pest control team was called to remove it. While mice are a familiar nuisance in the Palace of Westminster's warren of corridors, a fox making its way inside is highly unusual, and parliamentary insiders described the episode as an isolated incident.

Freeman said pest control staff told him it was "a first" for them, and the fox was eventually escorted off the estate and released near Victoria Tower Gardens. Parliament typically spends more than £100,000 a year tackling pests such as mice, but pets like cats and dogs are barred from roaming the premises in case they become trapped, despite some MPs' requests. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who lives on site, is known as an animal lover and has kept cats, a parrot and a tortoise, though the Commons said such incidents are dealt with swiftly to keep the estate safe.