This Europe: Sick building at the heart of government

Once plagued by so many technical faults that it was nicknamed Fawlty Towers, the European Parliament in Strasbourg fell victim to sick building syndrome yesterday when the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' diseasewas discovered for the second time in two years.

The discovery of Legionella in samples of hot water provoked alarm and anger among MEPs, who resent being forced to commute between the European Parliament's two sites in Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy saidit was "time to shut up shop". Built at a cost of £250m, the 17-storey, 1,110-room, riverside building was beset by massive problems when it opened in 1999, with jamming lifts and faulty air conditioning.Experts believe the Legionella problem may be inevitable given the fact that the parliament is empty three weeks out of four. The bacterium thrives in empty pipes that are used irregularly.