AHMM director Paul Monaghan has defended the controversial proposal to demolish all but the façade of listed Richmond House to accommodate a temporary Commons debating chamber.

By removing the floors behind the Whitehall elevation they would create a triple-height central lobby with views out to the Cenotaph that would become the “heart of Parliament”, he claimed.

“We have made the piece that most people are interested in the centrepiece of the new building,” he said, defending the proposals against criticism from opponents.

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