Mccartney's Late-night Parliament Visits

The former Beatle has been watching politicians debate from the public gallery ever since his comedian pal Kenny Lynch introduced him to the experience.

MCCartney tells Britain's Absolute radio, "We used to say (to Lynch), 'What are you doing?' He'd say, 'Oh I'm going to the Houses of Parliament tonight.' We said, 'Get out of here!' He said, 'Oh yeah, didn't you know when you go past (clock tower) Big Ben, if the light is on at the top of Big Ben it means they're sitting in Parliament.'

"So I always look for it now, and if I ever see it and I've got nothing to do for the next half hour, you can go in."

But MCCartney's visits have become less frequent after the government introduced stricter security measures - and he was mobbed by guards during his last late-night trip.

He explains, "It was hilarious, because it was late at night and they were all there... I mean they took my photo and did the things, checked me out, but all they all wanted was a photo with me.

"So it ended up with me and about 20 security people, 11 o'clock at night, all going 'Cheese!', 'Go on, another one', 'Hey, use his camera', 'Hey, come on!'"