LONDON, Sept 16: Britain launched an inquiry on Thursday into the first storming of its parliament since 1674 after a protest stunt revealed shambolic security at the heart of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government.

Eight men opposing a law to ban fox hunting used a forged letter to enter the landmark Victorian building and were then apparently helped by someone inside with a security pass.

Five of them, dressed in T-shirts bearing Blair's face, stole through the labyrinthine complex to storm the debating floor, before ceremonial guards dressed in black stockings and tailcoats hauled them away.

One guard in buckled shoes gave chase with a sword dangling from his belt: a show of quaintness that turned Britain into a laughing stock. Police were holding the eight for questioning on Thursday as parliamentary and security officials opened investigations.

The break-in took place just two days after a fathers' rights campaigner dressed as Batman scaled a balcony at Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace and four months after Blair was pelted with flour-filled condoms inside the House of Commons. Heads were expected to roll and a major shake-up of security at Britain's key sites looked inevitable. -Reuters