Sir Iain Duncan Smith has begged Boris Johnson to ‘overrule’ Parliament and let members of the public pay for Big Ben to bong to mark Brexit.
The former Tory leader is one of a number of senior Brexiteers who are urging Number 10 to act as pressure grows on the Prime Minister to make sure the UK’s departure from the EU is marked appropriately.
Big Ben is currently undergoing a massive renovation and it would cost an estimated £500,000 to get it up and running so that it can ring out at 11pm on January 31.
Mr Johnson backed plans for members of the public to donate cash to pay for the work needed with a fundraising campaign now having topped £160,000.
But the House of Commons Commission has suggested it would be unable to accept the money because of parliamentary rules amid suggestions the cash could be given to the Help For Heroes charity if the bid fails.
Senior government sources have blamed ‘intransigence’ by the Commission for blocking the bongs plan.
There are now growing calls for Number 10 to go to war with Parliament in a desperate last ditch bid to make the plan happen.
Sir Ian told The Telegraph: ‘I beg the Prime Minister to step up and tell the Commission they’ve got this wrong, and he and the government will overrule it unless they change their mind.’
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has accused the government of being ’embarrassed’ by Brexit over its failure to back the Big Ben bid.
The fundraising campaign, organised by StandUp4Brexit, has until this weekend to reach the £500,000 figure or the money is likely to then the military charity.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith has urged the government to ‘overrule’ the House of Commons Commission and allow Big Ben to bong for Brexit
Andrea Leadsom, pictured, yesterday announced she had donated £10 to the online appeal to pay for Big Ben’s bongs to sound on January 31 at 11pm
The campaign, organised by StandUp4Brexit, has until this weekend to raise the bumper figure or all the money will likely go to the military charity Help for Heroes
Number 10 sparked anger among Tory MPs yesterday after appearing to wash its hands of the campaign following Mr Johnson’s decision on Tuesday to support the plan as he urged people to ‘bung a bob for a Big Ben Bong’.
Government sources accused the House of Commons Commission of ‘intransigence’ and of effectively scuppering the plan.
But more than 9,000 people have now donated cash, including Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom who handed over £10. She wrote on Twitter: ‘I admit I’ve donated a tenner. #LoveBigBen. The Big Ben must bong for Brexit campaign.’
Former party leader Sir Iain condemned the House of Commons Commission and urged Mr Johnson to stop ‘sitting on the fence’.
‘On the eve of the single biggest change that Britain will undergo – arguably since the end of the Second World War – the House of Commons Commission, it appears, is determined to leave Big Ben mute.
‘This bell has rung out at all the critical moments in our nation’s modern history. But that it should be silenced now verges on the absurd.
‘Somehow they managed to find time to clang the bell to welcome in the New Year which is of far less significance. They must rethink this and allow that bell to ring.’
He added: ‘I urge Downing Street to make a clear statement that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet want Big Ben to signal the moment when our great country officially leaves the EU.’
Conservative MP Mark Francois said he would pay £1,000 towards the £500,000 cost of sounding the bell at 11pm on January 31
Former defence minister Mark Francois said the PM would be ‘mad’ to back down after initially backing the campaign.
‘As the Prime Minister effectively initiated this campaign live on TV two days ago and as we are clearly going to hit the target, he would be mad to back away from it,’ he said.
Downing Street sources had previously said the idea of restoring the bell for January 31 was ‘dead’, and Mr Johnson’s spokesman appeared to confirm the news yesterday as he pointed the finger of blame at the Commons authorities.
‘The House of Commons authorities have set out that there may be potential difficulties in accepting money from public donations,’ he said. ‘I think the PM’s focus is on the events which he and the Government are planning to mark January 31.’
House of Commons officials claimed it would cost £500,000 to temporarily bring back the bell for one evening
A government source blamed the ‘intransigence’ of Commons officials, saying: ‘We went to the House authorities saying “how can we make this happen?” and they came back with a whole series of unhelpful comments.
‘It’s very difficult for us to say to people they should contribute money when the whole thing might still be turned down by Parliament. If they do raise the half a million pounds then the Commons authorities are going to have a very big decision to make.’
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who is chairman of the commission, set himself firmly against the idea saying the cost would be ‘£50,000 a bong’ – and argued only people who live in Westminster would get to hear the bell.
Commission officials warned of the legal and ethical problems of accepting public donations, calling it ‘unprecedented’.
The extraordinary cost is made up of £120,000 to reinstall and test the temporary ‘bonging’ mechanism. That also includes the cost of building a temporary floor in the belfry and then removing it again. They also said the Brexit bongs would delay renovations by up to four weeks at a cost of £100,000 per week.
Last night another Commons source said No10 could have pushed the issue by forcing a vote in Parliament.
‘The issue came up before the Commission and it was explained the cost and delay involved to the restoration of Big Ben and the Tower. If the Government really wanted it they could put forward some sort of motion and they could vote on it. That would overrule the commission.’
The appeal was launched on Wednesday morning on the GoFundMe website.
Writing on the site, one donor told the PM to ‘get it done’: ‘I find it unbelievable that this wasn’t arranged ahead of time and at reasonable expense just like it has been with every other significant event. Just get it done!’