THE risk of fire at the Palace of Westminster is “huge,” Jeremy Corbyn warned today after flames ripped though Paris’s historic Notre Dame cathedral.

The Labour leader said last night’s blaze, which destroyed the wooden parts of the structure, the stained-glass windows and the spire, was “very, very sad.” He praised the work of the firefighters.

And he pointed out that the building that houses Britain’s Parliament is in “very poor” condition and reiterated concerns that a huge sum needs to be spent on repairs.

MPs and peers voted early last year to evacuate the building to allow the work to be carried out, but the “restoration and renewal” programme is not expected to start until the mid-2020s.

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, effectively the deputy prime minister, said a water leak in the Commons earlier this month was a reminder of the need to deal with the building’s problems.

The Palace of Westminster was built in the mid-1800s after a fire in 1834 destroyed much of the old Parliament building.