Big Ben fails to chime after the clock stops at famous Westminster landmark

Time stood still in Westminster on Wednesday lunchtime as Big Ben failed to chime.

The famous bell at the top of the Elizabeth Tower fell silent at 1pm after the clock stopped.

"We are aware that the clock dials on the Elizabeth Tower were temporarily displaying the incorrect time on Wednesday afternoon," a House of Commons spokesperson said.

"Clock mechanics worked quickly to rectify the issue and the clock is now functioning as normal," a statement added.Last year Londoners could be forgiven for thinking they were caught in a time warp as Big Ben's clock hands suddenly began spinning.

The strange scene was captured on video, as the Elizabeth Tower's multi-million pound refurbishment came to an end.

But the explanation for the phenomenon was much more routine, a House of Commons spokesperson told ITV News London.

"We are aware that the clock dials on the Elizabeth Tower were temporarily displaying the incorrect time. Installation of some of the clock’s key components meant we were required to pause and reset the clock," the spokesperson said.

Big Ben had an £80 million makeover with a painstaking level of detail going into the five-year refurbishment. There was a change in colour-scheme and a restoration of decorative symbols which adorn the clock tower.

For decades, the clock dials and the stonework surrounding them were painted in many layers of black paint that became synonymous with Big Ben. Experts believe the colour scheme was chosen in the 1930s to mask the effects of pollution but, returning to the original vision by Parliament’s architects Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, the clock has since been updated. Following restoration off-site, the clock hands have been painted to match the original Prussian Blue colour scheme on the clock dials, with the hands reattached last summer.

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