Police quiz pass-holder over demo

It was thought protesters got into the building with visitors' passes

A Parliamentary pass-holder who has worked for at least one MP and peer has been questioned by police about a rooftop protest at Parliament.

The 26-year-old was held at his home in the Westminster area of London at 1805 GMT on Thursday, Scotland Yard said.

He was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting a criminal offence of trespass but later released on bail.

Five anti-Heathrow expansion protesters unfurled banners from the building's roof during a three-hour demonstration.

They were led down peacefully at 1220 GMT on Wednesday, two days after a similar protest at Heathrow, where banners were draped over an aeroplane.

Calls for inquiry

It is thought the group - which has dubbed itself Plane Stupid - entered Parliament using visitors' passes and gained access to the roof through a fire escape.

Their action took place on the final day of the government's consultation on the expansion plans for the airport in west London.

Security staff led the five protesters down after nearly three hours

Protesters, who claim levels of noise and CO2 emissions would rise significantly if the size of Heathrow grew, insisted the result had been "fixed".

However, a spokesman for the Society of British Aerospace Companies branded the group's demonstrations as "stunts" which were "becoming tiresome".

The breach raised concerns about security at the landmark building, with some MPs calling for an inquiry into how the five had entered an area which was supposedly out of bounds.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the man arrested by officers was "a current Parliamentary pass-holder who has worked for members of both Houses" - a reference to the Commons and the Lords.

He was interviewed at a police station in central London under the Serious and Organised Crime Police Act, the force added in a statement. He was released later, to return for further questioning in a month.

No further indications of the man's identity were given.