Man proposes to girlfriend on House of Commons tour

Tom proposed in the famous hall as MPs were going about about their business

A man has been describing how he asked his girlfriend to marry him while on a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament.

Tom Lamb, 32, a farmer from Rutland, proposed to Emily Craig-Tyler, 32, in Westminster Hall.

The couple said they had been joined by MPs as they celebrated, including Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg and Alicia Kearns.

Ms Craig-Tyler said: "I couldn't stop smiling."

Emily said she could not stop smiling

Mr Lamb said the couple had been on a day trip to London and he had decided to take the platinum ring, inset with diamonds, along with him to "see what happened".

He had hidden it among the change in his wallet to avoid it being found by House of Commons security staff.

"Originally I thought I wanted to do it in the House of Commons," he said.

"And then we went in to watch but they were doing the budget debate. I thought, trouble is, if we do this now, we'll get asked to leave."

As he got down on one knee, he said the hall had been full of MPs going about their business.

"I thought it's now or never," he said. "You hear horror stories of people saying no, but luckily she accepted."

The couple celebrated with their MP Alicia Kearns (left)

Ms Craig-Tyler said: "I literally had no idea he was going to do it, or that he'd bought a ring.

"We love going down to London. It's our thing to do as a couple.

"We were having such a lovely time, going round parliament.

"Suddenly he was down on one knee. It was just lovely. I couldn't believe it and I couldn't stop smiling."

Afterwards, the couple celebrated in one of the House of Commons' dining rooms, where they were gifted a bottle of champagne.

"Jacob Rees Mogg sat with us and everyone was congratulating us and saying 'We've never had an engagement in the House of Westminster before'," said Mr Lamb.

"We had a little bit of House of Commons champagne, which we brought back as a souvenir."

They received a gift of House of Commons champagne

Ms Kearns said the occasion, on 15 March, had been "such a joy and also such a surprise".

"Everyone was so, so happy for them. It was the highlight of the week," she said.

The couple said they are yet to set the date for their wedding.