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MPs, peers and parliamentary staff have been issued instructions on how to react to a Mumbai-style attack on the Palace of Westminster.
The email circulated to staff by parliamentary authorities predicts there would be significant confusion in the event of an attack and advises people to escape the parliamentary estate as quickly as possible.
Parliamentarians and staff will be warned by a tannoy announcement and advised to flee the building as best they can rather than attempt to hide.
According to the advice there are no special provisions for MPs and peers, who will evacuate alongside other employees.
Authorities are keen to stress that there has been no specific threat to the Houses of Parliament but explain that it is only wise to have a contingency plan in the wake of the terrorist attack on Mumbai.
The protracted three day stand-off between gunmen and police in India's largest city in 2008 left at least 175 people dead.
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