Blogger Alex Hilton is a former staffer at the House Of Commons in Westminster. In light of the latest security breach, he explains how the climate change protesters could have reached the roof.

Alex is a guest on Sky.Com News, on-air and online at 7.30pm. Click here for what’s on tonight.

Today, a group of eco-warriors stormed parliament, taking over a patch of roof and a fire escape in protest at something to do with aeroplanes.

As a former staff member to an MP, I can guarantee that the most common response in the building would have been bemused incomprehension.

MPs aren’t generally equipped to see more than a couple of feet beyond their noses let alone 80 feet in the air.

Parliament isn’t as secure as people might think, as was proven a few years ago when some Eton hoorays stormed the chamber to campaign for the right to rip up animals with packs of dogs.

On that occasion, they had the assistance of a parliamentary passholder in getting around the building. On this occasion, it is unknown whether there was inside help.

They wouldn’t necessarily have needed it of course. I can think of at least two ways of entering the parliament without a security pass.

Both Central Lobby and Portcullis House offer opportunities to skirt the security cordon – and I have seen someone enter Derby Gate without being checked, legitimately in his case, though it could be replicated as a ruse.

Today’s protesters were ultimately undone, not because they failed to penetrate the building, but because mother earth conspired to take over the news agenda by giving Britain it’s most violent tremor for a quarter of a century.

But eco-warriors and Eton Hooray Rampagers make the same mistake. Storming Parliament may get you in the news for a day, but if they tried entering Parliament through the ballot box, they might truly have a chance to change the world.