MPs have been reassured that Big Ben's clock tower is not about to collapse on them, following reports that it was leaning and in danger of falling over.
Tory MP Greg Knight asked the Commons authorities "what recent assessment has been made of the structural soundness and stability of the Palace of Westminster clock tower".
Lib Dem John Thurso, who speaks for the Commons officials, told Knight in a written parliamentary answer that a report by expert advisers concluded in 2009 that the tower was "structurally stable".
"There are regular inspections of the tower, the most recent, of May 2011, confirming that the tower remains in a sound and stable condition," he said.
MPs feared that if the tower toppled over it would crash through the roof of the Portcullis House building opposite Parliament which is home to many of their offices.