Britain’s Parliament is preparing for MPs to return to the House of Commons from their Easter recess to pass a law on Tuesday to hold virtual debates and pave the way for a historic hybrid parliamentary setting amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Unprecedented changes to the main House of Commons chamber, designed more than 300 years ago, will be rolled out to let politicians tune into statements and question sessions via video link.
Prayer cards, normally used to reserve places for MPs on the Commons benches, will be replaced by green and red symbols indicating where they should and should not sit in order to keep the recommended six feet distance.
Screens have been installed in the chamber to allow MPs to speak remotely while the limited number attending in person will be signposted where to sit. The new practices will initially operate until May 12, although could remain in place for longer.
Once formally approved by MPs, the new hybrid system will come into force from Wednesday for Prime Ministers’ Questions (PMQs) – likely to be led by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab as the deputy for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is convalescing after his COVID-19 hospitalisation.
Britain’s MPs and most parliamentary staff were sent home in late March as part of a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus that has killed over 16,000 and infected nearly 125,000 people.