"Lawmakers warn of potential destruction of UK Parliament building"

The UK Parliament building is at "real and rising" risk of destruction due to its crumbling, leaky, asbestos-riddled state, according to a report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. The cost of renewal will be high, but further delays are hugely costly to the taxpayer, the committee said. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been subject to years of procrastination over restoration work, which has mostly amounted to "patching up" the 19th-century building. There is a constant threat of fire, and the building is in need of major repairs that could take several years.