Parliamentary authorities are investigating how a fox managed to get into Portcullis House, part of the UK's supposedly high-security Westminster estate, before being found in the office of former minister George Freeman. Staff discovered the animal rooting through a stationery cupboard, gave it water, and had it safely removed by pest control experts, but officials are now reviewing CCTV footage to establish how it bypassed fences, security guards and multiple secured doors.

Freeman said his caseworker found the fox before 9am, and that pest controllers described the incident as "a first". The animal was later released near Victoria Tower Gardens. While rodents are common at Westminster, with over £100,000 spent annually on pest control, a fox reaching the building's interior is highly unusual; a Commons spokeswoman called it an isolated incident with no sign of a recurring problem. The episode follows other recent security lapses at Parliament, including an intruder who hid in a toilet overnight and another who climbed onto the estate in daylight before being stopped near the House of Lords.