Christmas cheer as Big Ben to chime again
The iconic clock was silenced in August for a four-year renovation but some special events were chosen as exceptions.
Sunday 15 October 2017 02:04, UK
Big Ben's famous bongs will return after months of silence, just in time for some Christmas cheer.
The world-famous clock was silenced in August for the four-year renovation of the Elizabeth Tower, which houses the bell.
Events such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday were earmarked as exceptions but Christmas was not originally included.
But Commons leader Andrea Leadsom asked parliamentary officials to bring the bells back for the festive season, meaning they will chime from 23 December until New Year's Day.
Mrs Leadsom told The Sunday Times: "Some people might think this is a trivial matter - but over the course of the repairs, we have a duty to uphold the huge appeal of Big Ben to the millions of tourists that visit it each year.
"I'm sure visitors to the Eiffel Tower or Taj Mahal would be incredibly disappointed if they were covered in scaffolding - the same is true of Elizabeth Tower."
She said she was "delighted" at the decision to bring back the chimes for Christmas and would "continue to press for the bell to ring again before 2021".
The 13.7-tonne Great Bell was last stopped for maintenance in 2007 and before that it was halted for two years in 1983 for refurbishment.
The current Elizabeth Tower renovation was originally .
In August, hundreds of people for controversial renovations that will last four years, the longest period in its 157-year history.
A parliamentary spokesman said the schedule for the bell chimes over Remembrance Sunday weekend and the Christmas-New Year period would be announced "shortly".