BURNLEY MP Peter Pike has opposed proposals to charge visitors to the Houses of Parliament during MPs summer holidays, believing it will stifle the interest of young people in democracy.

He said: "When I was a young boy, I was able, in the days before security had to be so tight, to get on a tram at Wimbledon Town Hall, come to Westminster, get off at the bridge and walk in here virtually at any time. "Although in the early years after the war this end of the building was virtually a building site - the Chamber was being rebuilt.

"School children in the London area at that time - when it was much easier and people did not have to worry about the type of thing that might happen to children - looked for places to go. I could go to the Tower of London for free on a Thursday morning. That is no longer possible, all such possibilities have gradually been lost over the years.

"It is the questions of charging that concerns me. I recognise that Parliament is a working place. We must remember that, but it is a historic building, a great architectural building by Barry and Pugin and we want people to see it. Westminster Hall is celebrating its 900th year; people in the country should be able to see the building."

He said that as well as British tourists and young people wanting to see it, many Commonwealth citizens who lost relatives in two world wars wanted to see Parliament: "the symbol of the fight against fascism and the fight for freedom," for which lives were given up.

"I have grave reservations, partly on behalf of the 20 per cent of people who are British tourists and partly on behalf of those people in other parts of the world who now want to visit it. We want them to recognise what it still stands for in the world."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.