THE £67 million Welsh Assembly building, opened on St David’s Day only last week by the Queen, has sprung a leak.

Both the rain, which has fallen steadily on Cardiff since Monday, and previous sunshine were blamed yesterday for at least five puddles. The embarrassment came after MSPs abandoned their chamber in the Scottish Parliament when a ceiling beam came loose and swung over the Tory benches.

In Cardiff, water was seen dripping through the timber ceiling on to the slate floor near the entrance. Rain also trickled into a steel and glass staircase.

Puddles formed in the public gallery and in the corridors between the Senedd — parliament, or senate, in Welsh — and the members’ offices.

Assembly sources said that parts of the roof of the building, designed by Richard Rogers, had expanded and cracked under an earlier prolonged sunny period. A spokeswoman said that repair costs would be met under the fixed contract with the builders, Taylor Woodrow.

“Constructing a large-scale building will always bring up minor defects that need to be remedied. A small amount of water has leaked into the building and work is under way to resolve this matter,” she said.

“It will be remedied easily as soon as the weather permits.”

The new home of Welsh democracy has impeccable environmental credentials. It is supposed to gather rainwater and use it to flush lavatories and clean windows — but not the floor.

In the £430 million Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, business was halted on March 2 when a loose 12ft (3.5m) long ceiling beam swung over the Tory benches. It stopped inches short of a glass screen, dangling about 20ft above the chamber. After the incident, MSPs stood in the central lobby exchanging anxious jokes. One suggested that they should move to the new Welsh Assembly building.

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