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The landmark clock tower containing Big Ben at Britain's Palace of Westminster, is {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}, while media reports said the {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}of all parliaments was {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}into the River Thames, raising fears over its future.
The 96-meter tall clock tower, which {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}the bell originally nicknamed Big Ben, leans about 46 cm {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}the left of its peak. A construction expert who worked on the {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}tower of Pisa in Italy and a multi-storey car park under the houses of parliament in central London, said there was nothing to worry about, and it would take years to reach an {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}of concern.
Professor John Burland of Imperial College London also said work on the underground Jubilee train line in the 1990s had not caused {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}movement, while a spokesman for the commission said the tilt could have existed {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}its construction in 1859.
The lean which is just visible to the {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}eye had "been there for years," Burland said. "When I first started work on the car park it was {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}that it was leaning," he told BBC radio. "It was probably developed at a very early stage because there's no {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}in the cladding and we think it probably leant while they were building it and {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}they put the cladding on. That was a long time ago and buildings do lean a little bit."
He also {{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}concern in the media that parliament was slipping into the Thames, while the commission's spokesman {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}the walls around the palace were suffering from a particularly bad {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}problem causing Big Ben to lean. The current building, which houses the upper and lower {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}as well as the offices of some lawmakers, was built after its medieval {{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}was largely destroyed by fire in 1834 and has required constant {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}.
"There's no {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}thing as an old building that isn't cracked," he said. "These have been there for years and they're certainly not caused by the Jubilee Line or the car park."